? PEANUT BUTTER ALERT ?
Yep, peanut butter is back. This incredible ingredient was most recently seen in my Peanut Butter Overnight Oats, but if you’re on my blog you are never too far away from a peanut butter treat. It’s my wife’s favourite (or is that salted caramel?) and although I’m not a fan of PB straight from the jar, if you whack it into a cake or cookie, I’m alllll over it. So yeah, this Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread is a winner in our house.
Where do I even start with this?
Okay, how about the bananas. As with all banana breads, you’re going to want to use some very ripe bananas for this one. But what if you’ve got some under-ripe bananas and you are as impatient as me? Well, have I got a trick for you. Just pop the bananas on a baking tray (skins still on) and pop in the oven (150°C / 130°C fan / 300°F) for about 30 minutes. You’ll end up with some super mushy ripe bananas – just what you’re after. The skins will go very black, but that’s okay. They aren’t burnt inside. Promise.
This banana bread doesn’t taste much like bananas, they are mostly in there for the epic moisture they bring. So if you’re not a banana fan but want to give banana bread a go, then this a great recipe to start out with.
Other than ripening the bananas, this recipe is as straight forward as they come. Mix the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients. I skipped out on mixing the dry ingredients together in their own bowl first, and instead opted to sieve them all together straight in with the wet. Yep, this is a one bowl wonder. Can this recipe get any better?!
Chocolate chip wise, I finally made use of the Reese’s peanut butter chips I managed to get hold of from Amazon. I sprinkled these, along with some plain chocolate chips on top of the peanut butter frosting. But I kept things exclusively chocolate chip inside the cake.
Always make sure to use the cheap kind of peanut butter, not the organic whole earth stuff, and make sure it’s smooth, not crunchy. I just find that the cheaper peanut butter works so much better in baking, even if it’s not quite as nice on a slice of toast or in a PB&J.
Doesn’t the top of this chocolate peanut butter banana bread just look the prettiest? That’s some thick peanut butter frosting (it’s in the recipe below) that I piped on using a piping bag and a really big round nozzle. Or just snip the end of a disposable piping bag (or the corner of a sandwich bag) off and be done with it. Easy decoration that looks amazing. That’s always my favourite.
- 130g (½ cup) smooth peanut butter
- 200g (1 cup) caster sugar (US granulated sugar)
- 2 large eggs
- 60ml (¼ cup) sunflower oil
- 4 very ripe bananas, mashed - see post above for ripening trick!
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 190g (1½ cups) plain or all-purpose flour
- 30g (¼ cup) cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 100g (2/3 cup) milk chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
- 65g (¼ cup) smooth peanut butter
- 4 tablespoons golden syrup or corn syrup
- 125g (1 cup) icing sugar or powdered sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 30g (1 oz) chocolate chips
- 30g (1 oz) peanut butter chips (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan), and line a 2lb (9 x 5 inch) loaf tin with baking parchment. There is no need to grease.
- In a a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, place the peanut butter, sugar, eggs, and oil. Beat together well until creamy and smooth, scraping down the sides when needed. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla extract and beat well until the banana is fully incorporated. There may still be visible little blobs of banana puree in the mixture, but that's fine.
- Sieve the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into the bowl. Mix together gently, until only just combined. Add the chocolate chips and gently fold them through the batter, until well distributed.
- Pour the batter into the lined loaf tin, making sure the top is flat. Place in the oven for about an hour, checking the loaf for readiness from about 50 minutes in to the baking time. The banana bread is ready if a toothpick or skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean, or with only one or two tiny crumbs. Be careful not to mistake a melted chocolate chip for batter.
- Leave the loaf to cool in the tin on a wire rack. Once completely cool, remove from the tin and make the topping.
- To make the topping, place the peanut butter and syrup in a medium microwaveable bowl and heat for 20 second intervals until melted and smooth. Mix together well. Add the icing sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt, and mix together well. The topping will be quite thick, so add a little more milk if you want it a bit runnier. I like to pipe mine on top of the banana loaf with a piping bag in a zig-zag pattern (see photos). Sprinkle the top of the cake with chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips if you have them.
- The banana bread should stay fresh for 3-4 days (and maybe longer) if stored in an airtight container. You can wrap it in clingfilm or plastic wrap to help keep the moisture in if necessary. Make sure the loaf has fully cooled before storing. If you live somewhere warm then the loaf is probably best stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
I do really love bananas, and I liked this banana loaf but I agree that it is not a true banana loaf. More of a really moist chocolate cake with a hint of banana and a hint of peanut butter.
Thanks for the banana ripening trick CharpyHax!