Chocolate Chip Banana Brownies

For a banana-loving/eating family, I am always baffled when I see a brown banana in the fruit bowl. Where do they come from??? And don’t you love how no one will eat them once they show a few signs of age? It drives me craz-zy! On a bright note, it means there is always a good stash of brown bananas in the freezer whenever I feel like a loaf of banana bread or a nice banana cake with lashings of cream cheese frosting.

This Chocolate chip banana brownies recipe came about because of a bit of a glut in the brown banana department in the fruit bowl, plus I hate throwing food away. I much rather try to use things up with my everyday cooking. And so when the weekend rolled around and there were two, rather sad-looking bananas on the bench, I set out to create a fudgy chocolate brownie with a good hint of banana for the school week ahead.

What you need to get started

Butter – I use Lurpak unsalted butter

Pantry staples – plain flour, brown sugar.

Dutch cocoa – I always use good quality dutch cocoa and pretty much only use dutch cocoa in my baking. I love the richness and intensity of the flavour compared with regular cocoa that is created by the “dutching process” of the cacao beans. This one here is my favourite.

Eggs – always free-range, at room temperature when there is baking involved!

Vanilla Extract

Overripe bananas – I used two average-sized bananas and crushed them with a fork into a rough paste-like consistency. It measured roughly 3/4 cup of mashed banana.

Chocolate Chips – I am a 70% darl chocolate kinda girl, so I threw in 1/3 cup Callebaut dark chocolate chips for a little added gooey-ness.

The details

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celcius.
2. Grease and line with baking paper a 30cm x 15cm biscotti pan.
3. In a saucepan melt butter on low heat. When melted, add brown sugar and stir to combine. Set aside and leave to cool for a couple of minutes.
4. In a mixing bowl, add the flour and dutch cocoa. Give a gentle whisk to get out any lumps and bumps. 
5. Add butter mixture to the flour bowl. Gently stir in. Add eggs and again, stir to combine.
6. Add vanilla and mashed banana. Give the mixture a good stir, being careful not to overbeat.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Smooth over the top with the back of a spoon to even out the top.
8. Bake for 30 minutes.
9. Remove from oven. Leave to cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan – the longer the brownie is left in the pan, it continues cooking. Because we want a fudgy center, I like to remove the brownie from the pan as soon as possible!

Essential equipment

Anyone can make brownies. All you need is a mixing bowl, measuring spoons, spatula, baking paper, biscotti pan, and an oven. That’s it! Which makes it a great one for kids who are learning to cook.

Now let’s take this up a notch

Personally, I do like a good slice of brownie for my afternoon tea, BUT, I LOVE serving my brownies up for dessert in a fudgy brownie and ice cream sundae. Just add a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream to a bowl with a brownie square. Go nuts with some toppings. You could add some homemade chocolate ganache or a spoon of dulce de leche, chopped nuts, or sliced banana.

How to store chocolate chip banana brownies

This brownie will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

A few more sweets for my sweet…

• A mid-summer Eton Mess
• Spiced apple cider doughnuts
• Apple & walnut ANZAC crumble

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