MARY BERRY'S BANANA LOAF
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana (peeled weight 100g/4oz)
- 1 tbsp milk
- 50g/2oz soft butter or baking spread
- 75g/3oz plain flour
- 75g/3oz caster sugar
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 free-range egg
- 50g/2oz dark chocolate chips
- 50g/2oz dark chocolate
Directions
- Preheat the oven 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3. Grease and line a 450g/1lb loaf tin with non-stick baking parchment.
- Use a fork to mash the peeled banana in a mixing bowl. Add the remaining cake ingredients (except the chocolate chips) and beat with an electric hand whisk until combined and smooth.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Level the top.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until well risen
- shrinking away from the sides of the tin and golden-brown.
- Set aside to cool for 10 minutes
- then remove from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.
- For the decoration
- break the chocolate into small pieces and add to a heatproof bowl.
- Melt the chocolate in the bowl over a pan of simmering water (ensuring that the bowl does not touch the water). Stir regularly
- until almost completely melted
- then remove from the heat. The heat of the bowl will melt any remaining lumps.
- Spoon the melted chocolate into a piping bag and pipe zig-zags across the top of the loaf. Set aside for the chocolate to set. Slice and serve.

