Every weekend has its rituals. Outings away from town, meals with friends, walks in the open air with the spring sprouting amongst the tree branches. Dinners in good company, alarm clocks turned off, lazy Sunday breakfasts. A slice of freshly-baked banana bread with dark chocolate and salted caramel sauce.
I must say I have never been a fan of British cakes. They’ve always seemed a bit “too much” for me. Too sweet, too heavy, too greasy. That was until I invented the perfect banana bread recipe.
A really soft pound cake, perfectly sweet, fragrant and full of the flavour of good, wholesome ingredients. A really easy and tasty recipe that will become your favourite once you’ve tried it.
The rich consistency of the banana blends perfectly with the buttery cake mixture together with the well-rounded bitterness of the chocolate. To top it all off, last but not least, my salted caramel sauce that adds the final touch to a banana bread that awes you like few cakes know how.
Imagine it sitting in your favourite picnic hamper; imagine savouring it while sitting on a lawn, the worthy star of your family’s Sunday brunch.
Imagine it served as desert at the end of an amazing barbecue party outdoors (cooking outdoors is child’s play with a Palazzetti barbecue: in fact, many models come with an oven! What are you waiting for, find the one that best meets your needs!).
Banana bread with dark chocolate and salted caramel sauce: the recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 200 g butter at room temperature
- 150 g cane sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 200 g plain flour
- 100 g maize or potato starch
- 4 g powdered brewer’s yeast
- the tip of a teaspoon of baking soda
- one sachet of vanilla flavouring
- 100 g of lukewarm full-fat milk
- 70 g extra dark 80% cocoa chocolate
- 2 bananas (not too ripe)
- the zest of one organic lemon
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- Icing sugar to decorate
For the salted caramel topping:
- 20 g butter
- 30 g caster sugar
- 20 g maple honey
- the tip of a teaspoon of salt
METHOD
- Start by mixing the butter with the sugar until the mixture is airy and foamy.
- Now add one egg at a time, waiting for the first to be well mixed in before adding the next. Add the brewer’s yeast and the baking soda.
- Now add the flour and starch. Mix until smooth and even.
- Add the milk, the vanilla flavouring, the lemon zest and the ginger. Lastly, add a sliced banana and the dark chocolate chopped into roughly-cut pieces with a kn
- Now turn your attention to the salted caramel sauce: melt the butter with the sugar, honey and salt in a non-stick saucepan. When the caramel sauce is smooth, remove it from the heat.
- Grease a pound cake tin and pour the banana bread mixture into it. Now cut the remaining banana lengthwise into slices and arrange the slice on the top of the cake. Pour the salted caramel sauce all over the mixture.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for 50 minutes (make sure it’s ready by performing the “toothpick test”)
- As soon as your banana bread with dark chocolate and salted caramel sauce is ready, let it cool, dust it with icing sugar and put it on a cake dish ready to serve. Now you can enjoy its delicious flavour at breakfast, lunch and dinner or for a sweet treat at any time of the day. By itself or with a thin layer of jam: the truth is you won’t be able to live without it!
Has this banana bread recipe made your mouth water to the extent that you can’t wait to try it out? We look forward to receiving a pic of your cake!
Don’t forget to share your creations with us by using the hashtag #PLZcucina or tagging us on Instagram !
Credits immagini: Sara Cartelli
