These cakes came about because Lindt sent me a batch of their dark chocolate to try and because I had some bananas that desperately needed using up.
I didn’t want to make just another banana bread, I wanted to make something a bit special, but pretty simple to create. I’ve also wanted to decorate one of my bakes with edible flowers for a while, but I was waiting for the right opportunity. The flowers I tried to grow myself were a big failure, so I bought some violas, herbs and pansies and put them in the wooden planters that my boyfriend built for me.
At around the time I planned to make these cakes, my St Honore piping nozzle arrived as well. Everything had aligned into place and these cakes had to be made.
The rich chocolate banana bread is topped with a spiced rum chantilly cream, a chocolate curl and an edible viola. I made the banana bread the day before in a baking tray and left it overnight to cool and become really fudgy. It also made it much easier to cut. This recipe made 12 cakes in total after I trimmed it and cut them down to approximately 3.75cm in size. I know that sounds pretty specific, but the thing I love about patisserie is its uniformity, so I may have had my ruler out in the kitchen for this one.
The chocolate strips were made by spreading tempered chocolate onto food grade acetate, then using a cake comb, scrape the chocolate so that you create strips, the acetate is then put into a mould or bowl and left to set, to create the curved effect. My chocolate decorations need a bit of work, but it’s something I’m going to persevere with, so don’t be too surprised if you see a lot more chocolate decorations on the blog.
This banana bread recipe is inspired by the one on Supergolden Bakes, which looks delicious if you feel like trying her recipe, that butterscotch sauce looks amazing. If you have lots of bananas that need using up, you can try some of these other amazing recipes, Nutella Crust Banana Bread from Vikalinka, or how about a Chocolate and Peanut Butter Banana Bread from Domestic Gothess.
CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD
Ingredients
- For the cake:
- 100 g 70% Cocoa Chocolate chopped
- 150 g Unsalted Butter diced
- 200 g Ripe Bananas 3 small
- 175 g Light Brown Sugar
- 60 ml Milk
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 125 g Self-Raising Flour
- 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Chantilly Cream
- 400 ml Whipping Cream
- 4 Tbsp Icing Sugar sifted
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1.5 Tsp Morgan's Spiced Rum
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170C Fan. Grease and line a baking tray or roasting tin.
- Put the chopped chocolate and unsalted butter in a large bowl. Set the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water and allow the chocolate and butter to melt slowly. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth and set aside.
- Blitz the bananas, sugar, milk, eggs and vanilla paste in a food processor or mini chopper until smooth. Stir the purée into the chocolate until fully combined.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt over the bowl of the banana chocolate mix and then stir it in with a whisk, mixing gently until you have a glossy batter.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean and cake is risen and firm on top. Cool on a wire rack.
- When the cake is cool, you can wrap it in clingfilm and finish the rest of the cake the next day.
- Trim the edges of the cake and cut it into 12 fingers, mine were approximately 3.75cm by 11cm.
- Make the Chantilly cream by whipping the cream until it's firm, add the rum, vanilla and icing sugar and then whip it further until it's stiff enough to pipe.
- Put the cream in a piping bag with a St Honore tip and pipe a wavy ribbon on top of the cut cake. Decorate the cakes with violas and chocolate strips, or slices of banana or grated chocolate.
Thanks for reading.
Angela
I’ve added this to #FoodieFriDIY and Fabulous Foodie Fridays.
Shari from GoodFoodWeek
These are AMAZING – so beautiful, so detailed, so moist. Wow, I wished that I knew you in person and could just pop around to enjoy one!
PatisserieMakesPerfect
I’d definitely share Shari! You can bring the coffee!
Lucy @ Bake Play Smile
This is GORGEOUS! Seriously looks too good to eat. So moist! And that cream on top. WOW! Thanks for linking up with our Fabulous Foodie Fridays party! xx
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thanks so much Lucy. This is a really easy cake to make!
Jodie Dodd
So clever and gorgeous! The banana bread looks like it would just melt in your mouth. They have a very Easter-y feel to me and would just be adorable on the table.
PatisserieMakesPerfect
I guess it’s the yellow flowers that make them look Easter-y. They are really tasty, it’s a really rich and moist cake. x
Jodie Dodd
Yep, the yellow flower and they resemble little baskets with the chocolate strip. 🙂 x
Claudia Brick
That icing is so perfect, and the chocolate strips and flowers are a gorgeous finishing touch! Your banana bread looks so chocolately too – it’s just all so pretty <3
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thank you Claudia. I’ve wanted to do something with edible flowers for a while, this felt like the perfect cake! Thanks for the lovely comments <3
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four
What a fab idea, Angela! I love that you went beyond a simple banana bread and made a chocolatey kind! I love Lindt chocolate – so yummy. I also love the way you piped your frosting with such precision and darling floral accents. <3
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thank you Beeta – that was the first time I’ve used a St Honore tip, so I was a bit nervous! The flowers were an added bonus, so pretty, but so quick too!
Charlotte Oates
Well that’s the prettiest banana bread I’ve ever seen – simply stunning!
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thank you Charlotte and for sharing my ‘Batman’ bread on twitter 😉 I’m so glad you like it!
Kathleen
These are gorgeous! That spiced rum chantilly cream looks to die for 🙂
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thank you Kathleen – it’s really nice and the rum goes so well with the banana. 🙂
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thank you Louise. You’re too kind, I’m so pleased you like the look of these. I thought the name banana bread was a tad ironic 🙂
Ellouisa Cooking
They look fantastic! How do you make the chocolate strips?
PatisserieMakesPerfect
The chocolate strips were made by spreading tempered chocolate onto food grade acetate, then using a cake comb, scrape the chocolate so that you create strips, the acetate is then put into a mould or bowl and left to set, to create the curved effect.
Thanks for such lovely comments.
Lucy Parissi
I echo Julia – bananas have never seen such treatment! They look really pretty Angela – I wonder who got to taste them (and how you transport them without them falling apart). You need to tell me where to get food grade acetate. I got some off Amazon a long time ago but it was very thin strip and cos the earth!
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thank you Lucy. The acetate is from Sous chef, you get 20m for £10. It’s really good for lining patisserie moulds and for chocolate work. A family friend and the landlord of the local pub got to scoff these and they were transported in tupperware containers 🙂
Julia Frey@Vikalinka
I’ve never seen banana bread posher than yours, Angela! Absolutely stunning! You continue to impress. 🙂 xx
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thank you so much Julia! I was so pleased with how it came out! I’m glad I impress you 🙂 xx