Chocolate Caramel Banana Bread

I love the way food seems to play a central part in the life of Molly from Orangette - the way she recounts stories of her childhood, her stints in Paris (lucky duck), those first few heady months with her then husband-to-be, even the death of her beloved dad, all of them interspersed with memorable dishes, aromas and tastes. 

The way she and her mom ate at an intimate home-style restaurant in France, the way her dad tried to sneak caraway seeds into everything, the pickles that her husband is addicted to and her own love affair with all things vegetable makes for a very charming read indeed. You feel as if you are there, part of the family, sitting around the dinner table, sauce dripping down your chin, but it's okay, you don't care, because you're amongst people you love and who loves you.

Family is a central theme throughout the book and it's clear that Molly had a very special relationship particularly with her dad. Something I envy, truth to be told, but she recounts it in such a way that you can't feel jealous; instead you walk away feeling warm and fuzzy inside as if that was you she was speaking of, as if somehow you lived parts of her life. 

This is a book you can read over and over again and come back to nibble at a piece here and there (easily done, as it's broken up into many sections, rather like blogposts), perhaps make a recipe or two or simply become lost in the magic of life. What I like about her recipes is that they don't try to be trendy or fancy in any way, they are all tried-and-tested favourites, guaranteed to work every time. You can see it in the way she describes the recipes, in her instructions - be careful of this or that - and ultimately of course, the proof is in the pudding. 

Take this banana bread for example, a recipe she gleaned from a good friend who frequently used to make a choc-chip ginger version.. Molly begged the recipe off her and it has been in regular rotation since. Easy to see why too. How can anyone go wrong with chocolate? But it's more than that - the texture in this particular banana bread is flawless - just moist enough without being horribly dough-y if you know what I mean? In Afrikaans there's a lovely word to describe it: kluitjiesrig. Exactly what you don't want in a banana bread. Instead you get a lovely banana flavour, lightly moist crumb and of course the oozy bits of chocolate and caramel to sweeten the deal even further. Sold yet?


{I am submitting this to This Book Makes me Cook where the chosen book for Dec/Jan was A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg.}

Chocolate Caramel Banana Bread
Adapted from A Homemade Life
Makes 1 loaf

Now I know the title says bread, but really this could easily pass for a cake. You don't even need icing (and this coming from the world's biggest sweet tooth). The Rolo's are absolutely magnificent in combination with the bananas - if you can't find Rolo's, substitute with another caramel filled milk chocolate. It should work equally splendidly.

6 tbsp (90g or 3 oz) butter
2 large eggs
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup plain yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups white bread flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

3 x 48g packet Rolo's, cut in half

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Place butter in a small microwaveable container and microwave on medium-high for about 30 seconds or so or until melted. Set aside. 
2. In a large mixing bowl beat eggs with a fork until foamy, then add bananas, yoghurt, vanilla extract and butter, stirring to combine.
3. In a seperate bowl sift dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and ginger), then add to the egg mixture, stirring until just combined. 
4. Fold chopped Rolo's into the batter, then transfer to a greased (standard-sized) loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. 
5. Remove from oven and cool in the pan for approximately five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before slicing and serving. Of course, it's just as good eaten while still-warm and with the chocolate and caramel oozing out...

Other good mix-ins for banana bread are shredded coconut, pecan nuts or even peanut brittle. Experiment a bit and have fun - I'm sure you won't mind "testing" the results. Molly suggests crystallised ginger instead of the ground ginger that I used - it sounds absolutely fabulous and I'll definitely try it that way next time.