Golden Syrup Banana & Chocolate Cake

I'm a huge fan of banana bread/cake/loaf. They are perfect for mid morning energy boosts or with a cup of tea in the afternoon (can you tell I'm British!?). They never fail to be moist and flavoursome. I found a recipe for a golden syrup banana bread and decided to tweak it to my personal tastes, adding a few extra embellishments to make the guilt of eating cake that much easier to swallow. Literally! Enjoy - Bekki 

Ingredients;

4 Ripe bananas (medium/average in size and mashed)
2 Large beaten eggs
50g Melted butter 

150g Golden syrup (a little extra to put on top of the cake once baked)

170g Plain flour

3 tsp Baking powder

1 tsp Salt

2 tsp Cinnamon

50g Chocolate chips (milk or dark, your choice)

An extra banana for decoration if desired

Equipment;

7" loose bottomed cake tin

Oven temperature;

200c/400f/Gas 6

Method;

• Place the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter and golden syrup into a mixing bowl and mix together.
• Sift in the dry ingredients and fold through the wet ingredients until well combined and smooth.
• Add the chocolate chips - add a tsp of flour to the chips before adding them to the mixture to make sure that they don't sink to the bottom of the cake whilst baking.
• Line the tin in your preferred manner. I choose personally to use non-stick baking paper on the bottom of the tin and butter up the sides because I always get a good result and never experience the dreaded "oh my god, it's stuck to the tin!".
• Pour in the cake mix.
• If using the extra banana for decoration, slice lengthways and place across the top of the cake.
• Place the cake into the oven for 35-45 minutes, checking regularly and turning the tin half way for an even bake. If the cake begins to catch, loosely place a sheet of foil over the top of the tin. This will allow the cake to continue cooking but will stop the top being exposed to the fierce heat.
• Once baked. remove from the oven and leave to cool a little in the tin for 5 minutes.
• Remove from the tin and brush over a little golden syrup to add a beautiful glaze.
• Serve warm if you can. Will store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Verdict;

I've tried many recipes for banana bread and this one is beautifully moist and delicious. The small amount of chocolate brings a little extra naughtiness to the party whilst the cinnamon adds depth of flavour. I prefer making banana bread in a cake tin as people always love the end piece of banana loaf... so why not make sure everybody gets crust by making it in a round?!