Choco Almond Banana Loaf

Wow, it seems like such a long time since I had baked a cake... It has all been about cookies and breads recently.  This time, I tried to use some semi ripe(!) bananas instead of the usual 'ripe' the recipes call for and I personally think this gave a great balance of flavour with just a hint of banana rather than the very sweet banana taste.  I actually loved it this time around - each to their own hey!

The loaf was lovely and moist inside and I loved the texture of the almonds..  I am an almond lover!
Such a simple recipe which I adapted from Simply Recipes.

Ingredients 

4 semi ripe bananas, mashed (or ripe if you prefer!)

190g plain flour

80g butter, melted

150g granulated sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 & 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

50g chopped dark chocolate

70g flaked almonds

1) Preheat the oven to 175C. 

2) Line a 4x8" loaf pan with baking paper

3) Using a large mixing bowl, mix the bananas and the butter

4) Mix in the sugar, egg, baking powder,  salt and vanilla

5) Add in the flour 

6) Gently stir through the chocolate and flaked almonds

7) Bake for 60-70 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean

8) Leave to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.