Cocoa Nib Banana Bread

Banana bread is so evil. I always find the term banana bread amusing because the name itself seems to be trying so hard to deceive you into thinking that it's healthy. Like, "Look I'm banana bread. That's right, banana, which is fruit, so good for you! And it's bread!! That's like what they make healthy sandwiches with. Healthy!! Really! Oh and by the way, since I'm bread you better toast me and slather butter on me."

It doesn't fool me. But I'm still going to eat it anyway. But it's cake! Really good cake which you can toast for extra golden, crunchy goodness. Mmm.

I was excited to finally find some cocoa nibs while shopping at Essential Ingredient with Lisa after our trip to the Counter Burger. That place is so evilly good and expensive. I've been craving banana bread for a while and the idea of adding some crunchy, slightly nutty-flavoured cocoa nibs to it really appealed to me. If I ever do any kind of banana cake I always go with Stephanie Alexander's recipe. It is foolproof. I usually bake it in a square cake tin and then top it with some lemon cream cheese icing which always gets the big thumbs up from everyone.

I played around with the recipe a bit, but not much. Adding the cocoa nibs gives it great texture, the same way some chopped nuts would. The cocoa nibs add a little bit of bite and a tinge of cocoa flavour that balances the sweet bananas and brown sugar really well. It was a little greasier than I would have liked for banana bread so I might reduce the butter next time. However the greasiness problem was solved by sticking it on the big flat toasters at work. Crunchy golden exterior, moist and crumbly interior.

Cocoa Nib Banana Bread
(adapted from Stephanie Alexander's Banana Cake from The Cook's Companion)
125g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup soft brown sugar (original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups regular sugar)
2 eggs
1 cup ripe mashed bananas
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp all spice
1/2 cup buttermilk (can substitute with 1/2 cup milk + 1 tsp lemon juice)
a few drops of pure vanilla
1/3 cup cocoa nibs
Optional - thinly sliced fresh banana for topping

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees c. Grease and flour a medium loaf tin. Cream butter and sugar until light, pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, banana and vanilla.

Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl. Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk and mix until well combined. Set aside a handful of cocoa nibs for sprinkling on top. Fold in most of the cocoa nibs and ensure they are well combined. Pour into your loaf tin, sprinkle your extra cocoa nibs on top and place some banana slices on top if you want to pretty it up a bit.

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until a skewer comes out clean. The loaf may take longer to bake through compared to making it in a cake tin.