Banana and chocolate cake

Ingredients

250 grams plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
125 grams unsalted butter (softened)
250 grams caster sugar
4 bananas (ripe and mashed)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
175 grams dark chocolate (good quality or milk chocolate)

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.

Mix the butter, sugar, banana, eggs, vanilla extract and chocolate chips in a separate bowl.

Add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine, being careful not to over mix.

Pour the batter into a non-stick, or lightly greased and floured, 19 x 11 cm (7 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch) loaf tin and bake for 1 hour, or until the bread is cooked when tested with a skewer.

Leave the cake to cool for 5-10 minutes, and then turn the cake out onto wire rack. When the cake is cooled all the way through, slice the cake thinly, serve and enjoy

Bon Appétit

Chocolate Fondant Recipe

 

 

This is one of my favourite desserts to prepare, and I serve in a variety of ways. The vanilla bean ice cream is on a bed of honeycomb dust, and the fresh raspberries were soaked in a sugar syrup that was also used when I served the dessert.

Ingredients

Melted butter, for greasing
cocoa powder, for dusting
275g (9.5oz) dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
225g (8oz) unsalted butter
400g (14oz) caster sugar
0.5tsp vanilla extract
5 large free-range eggs, beaten
200g (7oz) plain flour, sifted
you will need
8 metal pudding bowls or ramekins

Preparation

Heat the oven to 180 C, 160 C fan, 350 F, gas 4. Brush the pudding moulds sparingly with melted butter, dust with cocoa powder and shake out the excess. Set aside. Melt the chocolate and butter gently in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla extract. Leave to cool slightly.

Whisk the eggs into the mixture a little at a time, then fold in the sifted flour and a little salt until you have a smooth mixture.

Divide between the moulds – each one two thirds full. Place on the middle shelf of the oven and cook for 12 minutes exactly. Remove from the oven, run a knife round the edges, invert and tip out on to serving plates. Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream and fresh seasonal berries.