50gwalnuts or pecans(coarsely chopped if skipping the first step)
1TbspWhisky or Bourbon
Optional
1pinchground clovesoptional
½tspcinnamonoptional
1Tbspcourse sugarwhatever’s on hand rawturbinado, muscovado etc.
Instructions
Optional
Heat oven to 350F/180C/160C Fan spread walnuts out on a baking sheet and roast in oven until aromatic (about 5-10 minutes)
Cool and chop or break up
And now the show
Set oven 160C/140C fan, grease and/or line a 450g/1lb loaf tin with non-stick baking parchment.
Use a fork or potato masher to mash the peeled banana in a mixing bowl.
Beat the butter and sugar together, add the egg, milk, mashed banana and mix to combine.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder in a separate bowl and beat into the wet mixture.
Pour or spoon about 1/3rd of the batter into the loaf tin, then mix in 75g of the chocolate pieces (if not topping with chocolate – mix in all now) and the nuts into the remaining batter and add this to the baking tin, levelling the top.
Sprinkle course sugar if using on top (this will add crunch, even if you’re covering it with melted chocolate later)
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until well risen, shrinking away from the sides of the tin and golden-brown (and passes the toothpick test so long as you don't hit a chocolate chunk).
Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.
For the chocolate topping, break the remaining chocolate into small pieces (~25g) and add to a heatproof bowl.
Melt the chocolate in the bowl over a pan of simmering water (the bowl should 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 chocolate over banana bread. Set aside for the chocolate to set. Slice and serve. (As you can see in the header photo - the world won’t come to an end if you slice it before the chocolate sets 😉 in fact, it slices easer and the little one called it “mud cake!”).
Notes
Easily doubled – you’ll need a 2lb loaf tin and I think you’ll need to bake it for about an hour.