Mary Berry Banana Cake Chocolate Food

BANANA LOAF

Steps:

• You will need a 900g (2lb) loaf tin, 17 x 9 x 9cm (6½ x 3½ x 3½in) base measurement. Lightly grease the loaf tin and line it with non-stick baking parchment. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Measure all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat for about two minutes, until well blended; an electric mixer is best for this but of course you can also beat by hand with a wooden spoon. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Bake for about one hour, until well risen and golden brown. A fine skewer inserted in the centre of the cake should come out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then loosen with a small palette knife and turn the cake out. Remove the lining paper and leave on a wire rack to cool completely. Slice thickly to serve. Get your copy of Simple Comforts, Mary Berry's essential new guide to comfort cooking. Featuring over 120 delicious, foolproof recipes, including a whole chapter of Mary's favourite new bakes and puds:

MARY BERRY'S BANANA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3. Grease and line a 450g/1lb loaf tin with non-stick baking parchment.
• Use a fork to mash the peeled banana in a mixing bowl. Add the remaining cake ingredients (except the chocolate chips) and beat with an electric hand whisk until combined and smooth.
• Stir in the chocolate chips and spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Level the top.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes or until well risen, shrinking away from the sides of the tin and golden-brown.
• Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.
• For the decoration, break the chocolate into small pieces and add to a heatproof bowl.
• Melt the chocolate in the bowl over a pan of simmering water (ensuring that the bowl does 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 melted chocolate into a piping bag and pipe zig-zags across the top of the loaf. Set aside for the chocolate to set. Slice and serve.

CHOCOLATE & BANANA CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment (allow it to come 2cm above top of tin). Mix the sugar, flour, bicarb, cocoa and chocolate in a large bowl.
• Mash the bananas in a bowl and stir in the whole egg plus 2 yolks, followed by the oil and milk. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Quickly stir the wet banana mixture into the dry ingredients, stir in a quarter of the egg whites to loosen the mixture, then gently fold in the rest. Gently scrape into the tin and bake for 1 hr 10-15 mins, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
• Cool in the tin on a wire rack. To make the icing, melt the chocolate and soured cream together in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Chill in the fridge until spreadable. Remove cake from tin, roughly swirl icing over and scatter with the banana chips.