Chocolate Banana Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4-1/2 oz unsalted butter, softened
1 cup caster (superfine) sugar
4 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup good-quality dark or milk chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.

Mix the butter, sugar, banana, eggs, vanilla extract and chocolate chips in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine, being careful not to overmix.

Pour the batter into a non-stick, or lightly greased and floured, (7-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch) loaf tin and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the bread is cooked when tested with a skewer.

Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve in thick slices with butter.

Makes 8 to 10 slices.

Helpful Hint:
When mixing batters, you will often see the words 'do not overmix'. This is so you don't work the gluten in the flour and toughen the mixture as this makes the end result tough and dry.

A loose mixture ensures a moist and delicious result.