Chocolate Banana Walnut Brownie Cake

“They look more attractive than a regular cake and they do not have to be frosted to be good.”
Linda Edwards

Over-ripe bananas & never a free moment to bake. A dilemma I used to face often, but not anymore! How often have you looked a banana in the face & thought you’d better use it before it becomes history? My kids will eat a banana only if it’s fresh, with a bright yellow peel, & above all, it’s got to be ‘good looking’.Tall order for this humble fruit which is said to contain everything a human needs and they contain all the 8 amino-acids our body cannot produce itself. Eat at least one banana a day, as they are a good source of fiber, potassium and vitamin C. The ‘one banana a day’ is a mandatory unwritten rule I’ve laid. When the kids were younger, till a couple of years ago, it was banana shakes in the morning that took care of the ruling. But they somehow grew out of the shakes & began to put up strong opposition. Hmmmm … how come they never grow out of chocolate?

Winter is kinder to bananas as they last at least 3-4 days on the counter ‘looking good’. With summer fast approaching, they barely last a day. I have a fruit seller who continues to come to my doorstep every morning & I buy 2-4 bananas each time. Sometimes they get overripe, & are not appealing at all. There was a time that I didn’t get them into the banana muffin or chocolate chip loaf in time, & they guiltily landed up in the bin. While writing an article for Daily Tiffin some time back , ‘Waste-The Demon of Despair’, I discovered this better way out. In the larger interest of an increasing burden of food waste in the world, maybe you can give it a go too? Freeze it! Yes indeed, freeze the overripe banana & then use it when you find time. I do just that, & made this delicious chocolate banana walnut brownie cake the other day, somewhat on the lines of the Starbucks Ultramoist Chocolate Cake.The hub declared it the best & moistest cake ever … & I’ve made it a couple of times since. I can gleefully declare that I have a couple of bananas freezing their peels off as I write…brrrrrrrrrr!! By the way, you can make this brownie cake with regular ripe bananas as well of course.CHOCOLATE BANANA WALNUT BROWNIE CAKE
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup vanilla sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed bananas (I used 4 small frozen ones)
1 egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk (subs: 1/4 cup milk + 1/2 tsp white vinegar, left to stand for 5 minutes)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup streusel mix for sprinkling on top (optional; I had some left-over from my coffee cake muffins) Method:

• Preheat oven to 175C. Line a 11 X 8 tin with baking parchment.
• In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
• In a separate bowl, combine bananas, egg, melted butter, vanilla extract and buttermilk. I used the hand beater.
• Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until blended. Be careful not to over mix. Gently stir in the chopped walnuts. Even out & sprinkle the top with streusel mix if desired; else just mini chocolate chips will do fine. You can omit the topping altogether if you want.
• Pour batter into pan. Bake at 175C for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

Enjoy a light, ultramoist cake…