Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread

I was doing the green groceries at the markets with my tribe the other day, when William came up to me holding a package of something cakey looking. Preempting the spiel that he knew I was about to give he said ‘chocolate, choc chip banana bread – I know that you won’t buy this – but could you make me some?’ …. How could I refuse that?!

So here you go Will. You wish is my command (this time anyway!). This is the chocolate/dessert version of my normal Banana Bread.

1 3/4 cups wholemeal spelt flour (a Barley/Rye mix works well)
1/2 cup rolled oats/quinoa/desiccated coconut
1/2 cup coconut sugar (optional, but add it in if you’re a sweet tooth!)
2 rounded tsp GF baking powder
1/2 tsp pink salt flakes
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk of choice (oat, almond and rice work well – but unsweetened vanilla almond milk is my favourite)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 medium, very ripe bananas
1/4 cup tasteless coconut oil/vegan butter
3 tbsp sweetened condensed almond milk (use a dairy/soy/coconut variety to suit)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (omit this if you use the vanilla almond milk)
80g toasted hazelnuts (or toasted mixed seeds for a nut free option)
4 squares dark chocolate (Optional)

Process the hazelnuts (or seeds) until they are a fine crumb (Speed 6, 5 seconds at a time). Be careful – don’t go too far and wind up with a paste.

Into a large bowl add all of the dry ingredients, including the nuts/seeds . I don’t do sifting (ever if at all possible!), so I use a whisk to gently mix this dry mixture until it’s even (or speed 4, 8 seconds)

In a large measuring jug, mix the milk and the vinegar and whisk vigorously for a minute. It should become slightly thicker and have lots of frothy bubbles on top. Then set aside for a few (3-4) minutes. Or you can blitz in your blender/nutribullet/thermal cooker for a few seconds (Speed 6, 6 seconds)

To the milk mix, add the banana, oil, condensed milk and vanilla and whisk until well combined. (or another few seconds in the blender/nutribullet)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, folding them in until just combined – don’t over mix.

Fold through your choc chips or finely chopped chocolate.

Pour batter into a large lined loaf pan, bake at 170C for about 45 minutes, or until a skewer, inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack for another 10-15 minutes.

You can also make these into muffins if you don’t have as much baking time, takes about 20 minutes and makes 18-20.

This bread is yummy as is, or with a bit of Nuttelex, or even toasted. It freezes and defrosts well, just slice and wrap individually before freezing.