Would you believe I've just come on board with the technique of roasting fruit to create a deeper depth of flavour in baked goods. Yeah I'm a bit slow on the uptake but now that I've discovered it I am totally in love with the concept. I have been making these muffins from a Pinch of Yum over the past month and I am just in love with what caramelizing bananas. It totally creates a new dimension to any baked good and in particular this deliciously moist Banana & Chocolate Loaf. By roasting and caramelizing the banana it creates the most intense banana flavour and adds the slightest notes of caramel to the loaf. It is simply delicious.

I created this last Saturday to give to my hungry family who were in the throes of painting walls in their new abode. This loaf took a little longer to cook than I expected and it left some painters awaiting eagerly for a slice of something good when I arrived. It was still hot and steaming, fresh from the oven when I pulled it out wrapped in a fresh tea towel. Eager eyes soon followed me as I spread my wares on a makeshift table and started slicing thick pieces, steam wafting from each piece as I cut it. The smell of banana and chocolate soon filled the room and we quickly gathered around on paint tins and makeshift chairs gorging on this cake.

I think it hit the spot nicely for the hungry painters and it was a nice change to the regular things I bake in my normal repertoire. If you are time poor I would totally recommend making these into muffins for a quicker version of this recipe. Just bake them for 30 minutes instead of 1 hour. I use coconut cream as the "moistening" agent in this loaf which makes it totally dairy free and stops the need for any butter or oil to be used. If you don't have a dairy allergy and want to make this even more decadent why not add some chopped dark chocolate and stir it through the batter before baking. Totally naughty but would be totally nice too. Bring this cake to new heights and serve it for dessert with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Yum.

Caramelised Banana & Chocolate Loaf

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 1 hour

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

2 large bananas, sliced into pieces
1 1/2 cup wholemeal self raising flour
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup cocoa
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 1/2 cup lite coconut cream
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey, melted until runny

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees (fan bake) and line a loaf tin with baking paper.

Line a small baking tray with baking paper and place the pieces of banana onto the tray. Leave 8 pieces aside to garnish the top of the loaf.

Place into the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the banana is brown and caramelized. Remove the banana from the oven and let it cool.

Reduce heat in the oven to 160 degrees (fan bake)

In a large mixing bowl place the wholemeal flour, almond meal, cocoa and salt. Set aside. In a small mixing bowl place the coconut cream, eggs, vanilla and honey together and mix to combine.

Carefully pour the coconut mixture into the dry ingredients. Add the cooled banana (minus the 8 garnish pieces) and carefully stir to combine all

ingredients together.

Pour the batter into the lined loaf and garnish the top with the remaining pieces of banana.

Place into the oven and cook for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. If the top of the loaf starts to burn near the end of cooking simply cover with a piece of foil until the loaf is cooked.

Remove from the oven and let the loaf cool before slicing.

What fruits have you roasted to add a new dimension to a dish??