RECIPE: Chocolate-fudge-banana cake

Oooooh these are goooood!

This cake is just perfect for afternoon tea, and is particularly scrummy still a little warm from the oven when the chocolate chips are all melty. The cake is moist as it is, but because of the little chocolate and fudge chips, you definitely don't need any icing.

The centre pieces are especially squidgy, almost brownie-ish, which I love. It's so moreish, and I warn you, really hard to stop eating.

I love bananas. They're so versatile and so delicious. Mashed banana somehow seems to take on an extra sweetness which I absolutely adore - mixed into natural yoghurt, in a nutella banana toastie, or just eaten by itself with a spoon. Mmm.

Add some mashed banana to a cake mix, however, and you've got a recipe (HA!) for success. Not only does banana add a lovely moistness to cake, it also adds sweetness which means you don't need as much sugar. So this is basically healthy. Ahem.

You want to use bananas that are reeeaaaally ripe. Almost over-ripe. I'm talking turning brown and speckly - they're the sweetest. (If you have loads and loads of over-ripe bananas to use up, you could also whip up a banoffee cake, some banana pecan muffins, a load of chocolate banana brownies or any of my other banana recipes. I have a fair few.)

I tell you what, the smell of banana-y cake baking in the oven is just unbeatable - it fills the whole house with deliciousness. Banana bread is pretty classic, but it's just as yummy in squares, and the chocolate and fudge additions take it up a notch and complement the banana perfectly if you ask me. After all, banoffee and choco-banana are always winning flavours, aren't they?

This recipe made 15 squares for me, but it depends how big you want to cut your pieces! Apparently mine were quite sizeable (I didn't think so...) One will never be enough regardless.

If I make these again (and I definitely will), I think I'll add some chopped pecans or hazelnuts. Oooh yeah.

Ingredients

150g unsalted butter, softened
175g golden caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
175g self-raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder
25g cocoa
2 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
100g plain chocolate chips
85g fudge chunks (the size of the packet)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, and grease and line a rectangular baking tin - the one I used measures, somewhat randomly, 27x17cm.

2. Cream together the softened butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy using a handheld electric whisk. Add the egg in three lots, beating well between each addition.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa on to the butter mix and fold it in using a large metal spoon until you have a smooth light brown mixture. Add the mashed banana, chocolate and fudge and mix well.

Adding the banana, fudge and chocolate

4. Pour the mixture into the tin and smooth the top as best as you can with a spatula. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out just about clean (but not quite, that's how you get the squidginess.)

Into the oven we go!

5. Remove from the oven and carefully go round the sides of the tin with a knife. Leave to cool in the tin for at least 15 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool fully (that's why mine has lines on it.) When cool (or thereabouts), turn onto a board and cut into pieces. Devour. End of.

Just out of the oven. Mmmm...