Gluten-Free Chocolate Banana Bread

If lockdown has given me anything it’s the ability to bake. Trust me when I tell you I could not bake anything, yes anything for the 27 years I had lived on this earth.

Now at 28 (I had a lockdown birthday), I can proudly say I can bake. Now let’s not get ahead of us I’m still very much at the beginners’ stage of this baking adventure!

Here is my spin on the delicious Nigella Lawson gluten-free banana bread. I made some tweaks to the ingredients I had access to and I think it’s pretty amazing!

I personally like to half to the recipe so it fits in my 1lb loaf tin but keep the number of bananas the same or at least 2 bananas.

INGREDIENTS

· 1⅓ cups self-raising gluten free flour

· 1 cup ground almonds

· 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder

· ½ teaspoon baking soda

· ¼ teaspoon Maldon Salt

· 3 mashed ripe or overripe bananas

· 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

· ⅓ cup full-fat Greek yoghurt

· 2 large eggs (at room temperature)

· ½ cup sunflower oil

· ⅔ cup soft coconut sugar

· 6 ounces roughly chopped bittersweet chocolate or chips

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C Fan/325°F and line a 2lb loaf tin. Grease the pan with butter or oil. In a bowl combine the gluten free flour, ground almonds, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a bowl.

In a separate large bowl mash, the bananas, I like using a potato masher or a fork. Using a whisk beat in the vanilla, and then the Greek yogurt.

I like to add the eggs one at a time. Then add the sunflower oil and sugar.

Mix until combined and smooth.

Slowly add in the flour using the whisk to combine the flour before adding more. I like to use a spatula to make sure nothing is left stuck to the sides of the bowl.

Fold in the chocolate.

Put the batter into the loaf tin. Bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes. Check the banana bread by seeing if a knife comes out clean, try to avoid the chocolate if possible.

Leave to cool completely.