Recipe Review: Chocolate Banana Bread

Ever since R introduced me to TasteSpotting, I've been inundated with recipes. I try to only bookmark the ones that I might actually make, but my "New Recipes" folder is staring to bulge. This recipe, though, was too delicious to wait. As soon as you've got some ripe bananas, make it! I'm on my second slice of the evening and can tell you that you won't regret it.

Chocolate Banana Bread
Adapted from You Say Tomato... I Say Tomato (who in turn adapted it from Nigella's Banana Bread, How to Be a Domestic Goddess)

• 1/2 c dried blueberries
• 1/4 c whiskey
• 1 1/4 c plain flour
  
• 1/3 c cocoa powder
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 c sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 4 small very ripe bananas
• handful of chocolate chips
• handful of pine nuts
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 23x13x7cm loaf pan, buttered and floured or with a paper insert

1. Put the dried blueberries and whiskey in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat, cover and leave for an hour if you can, or until the blueberries have absorbed most of the liquid, then drain.

2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and get started on the rest. Put the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized bowl and, using your hands or a wooden spoon, combine well. In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar and beat until blended.

3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the mashed bananas and chocolate chips. Then, with your wooden spoon, stir in the pine nuts, drained blueberries and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture, a third at a time, stirring well after each bit.

4. Scrape into the loaf pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 1-1 1/4 hours. When it's ready, an inserted toothpick or fine skewer should come out lacking in dough. Leave in the pan on a rack to cool, and eat thickly or thinly sliced, as you prefer.