banana bread with blueberries and chocolate

I think I went a little OTT with this one, but I figured the world doesn’t need another banana bread recipe (yawn), so I mixed it up. Blueberries, banana and chocolate are all happy flavor partners and I had all three on hand. I also felt like baking, which is happening a lot these days. The onset of winter and my intense desire to nest at home goes hand in hand with turning on my oven and baking delicious treats or bread.

You could stop at the blueberries or add the chocolate as I did. I used a 70% dark chocolate that doesn’t make this intensely sweet, but certainly makes it a little more indulgent than a straight up fruit quick bread. I was tempted to add orange zest to the mix. I mean blueberries and chocolate and oranges are all good friends, but decided to let the banana shine on through.

I picked up a great tip recently. If you have bananas that are about to turn but no time to eat them, simply freeze them whole with the skin on to and use in baking later on. They will be black and gooey inside but don’t worry, this is perfect. I found 5 bananas in my big freezer clear out recently along with a packet of blueberries and these worked perfectly. Just allow them to thaw first.

I adapted my banana and cranberry bread from my first cook book to make this recipe and this was quite delicious. I noticed I left out the baking soda so my bread would probably have risen a bit more. I also baked it in quite a big tin so it may appear a little flattened. I don’t think it really matters too much.

Makes 1 loaf

• 60g butter at room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 4 large bananas, roughly mashed (or 5 medium)
• 1 cup blueberries
• 80g dark chocolate, chopped into smallish chunks
• 1¾ cup flour
• 1½tsp baking powder
• ½tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 22 x 12cm loaf tin with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, then add the eggs, one at a time, ensuring they are thoroughly incorporated before adding the next.

Add the banana and chocolate and mix briefly.

Sift the dry ingredients and mix quickly to combine. Stir the blueberries through right at the end and only just enough so that they are mixed through. Spread the batter into the loaf tin and bake for 60 – 65 minutes, or until a sharp knife inserted comes out clean (it will however have melted chocolate on it).

~Cook’s notes: If you find the top of your banana bread is darkening too quickly, cover it loosely with a piece of foil while baking. I tend to do this with most of my baking and always check around half wa through the baking time. If you’re using a deep tin you may need to bake the loaf for a bit longer.