My son loves bananas. He’d probably eat a whole bunch every day if I let him, which means I usually end up buying at least a dozen every week with the food shop. If any of the bananas go a bit over-ripe, they normally end up being baked into snacks for him, such as my four ingredient oaty cookies.

However, I decided his dad and I deserved a treat, so with this week’s spare spotty bananas I did what most other people would do and I made a banana bread.

Now, I’m not one to brag, but when my absolutely-not-vegan husband tells me my vegan banana bread is “amazing”, I know I’m onto something good, so I thought I’d share this tasty treat with you.

The best time to make a banana bread (or cake if you want to call it that) is when your bananas are really spotty and almost brown/black. This is when they’re at their sweetest, so you can reduce the amount of added sugar in your baking and feel a little less guilty about indulging in a chunky slice of the loaf.

This recipe is great if you’re not a particularly confident baker, as the method is pretty much to chuck everything in a bowl, give it a good mix and then put it in the oven for an hour – it’s fairly fool-proof. If you’re feeling a bit braver, you could jazz up your loaf by adding some chopped nuts, or perhaps a swirl of nut butter on the top once you’ve transferred your mixture to your tin.

When it comes to the dark chocolate chips, I think it’s worth splashing out on the good stuff, as many of the cheaper chocolate chips seem to disappear when they’re baked. I use the Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Belgian Dark Chocolate Chips – they’re a bit pricey, but they stick around when baked so you get a nice hit of dark chocolate with most mouthfuls. Plus, with the amount you need for this recipe, you’ll be able to make three loaves with one bag.


Ingredients:
3 very ripe bananas
100g dairy-free butter
280g plain flour
65g soft light brown sugar
55g caster sugar
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
40ml oat milk
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g dark chocolate chips

Method:
1. Mash the bananas well in a large mixing bowl.

2. Melt the dairy-free butter in a bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

3. Add the butter, flour, brown sugar, caster sugar, bicarbonate of soda, oat milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and stir well until all the ingredients combine in a smooth batter.

4. Stir through 40g of the dark chocolate chips so that they’re evenly distributed.

5. Heat the oven to 170° fan while you line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

6. Pour the mixture into the lined tin, then sprinkle the remaining 10g of chocolate chips on top.

7. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes until the top is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Tip: many years ago I learned about the rule of not opening the oven door until you’re at least two-thirds of the way through your baking time, as this means your bake is less likely to sink. Opening the oven door means the heat distribution is altered, which can result in uneven baking. Some people say to wait for three-quarters of the time to elapse, but I find two-thirds works well enough. You may need to cover your loaf with tin foil if the top is starting to brown too much, so around 40-45 minutes is a good time to check and do this if necessary.

8. Once cooked, remove the loaf from the oven and allow to cool fully. It can be tempting to dive into the loaf straight away, but I find it doesn’t cut very well if it’s too warm and soft.