Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Gluten Free Banana Bread

I know I claim every recipe is the best. But this one is genuinely the best. Chocolatey, crispy on the top, soft and fudgy in the middle. The perfect mix of bananary goodness, sea salt and melty dark chocolate chunk. Oh, and it’s gluten-free, refined sugar-free, but doesn’t taste it.

I enjoy this most straight out of the oven. I don’t even wait for it to cool. Best served with a scoop of any ice cream. I guarantee you won’t regret making this.

Ingredients

• 3 very ripe bananas

• 2 eggs

• 60ml olive oil

• 3 tbsp honey

• 150g rice flour

• 1 tsp xanthan gum

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 3 tbsp cocoa powder

• 100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks

• 1 tsp Maldon sea salt flakes, plus extra for the top

Instructions

1. First things first, get your oven preheated to 175°C. Whilst that’s heating up, grab yourself a large mixing bowl.

   
   

2. Take your bananas and mash them thoroughly with a fork. The riper they are, the better. If your bananas look slightly questionable and have been sitting on the counter for a week, congratulations, they’re probably perfect for banana bread.

   
   

3. Add your eggs, olive oil and honey to the mashed banana and give everything a good mix until nicely combined.

   
   

4. Next, add your rice flour, xanthan gum, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and sea salt. Mix until everything comes together into a thick batter. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfectly smooth.

   
   

5. Throw in most of your dark chocolate chunks, saving a handful for the top. Give everything one final mix, making sure the chocolate is evenly distributed throughout the batter.

   
   

6. Pour the mixture into a lined loaf tin. Scatter over the remaining chocolate chunks and finish with a generous sprinkle of Maldon sea salt flakes. Trust me on the sea salt, it makes all the difference.

   
   

7. Bake for around 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. If there’s melted chocolate on the knife, that’s absolutely fine; you’re looking for wet batter.

   
   

8. Remove from the oven and attempt to be patient. I never am. I usually dig into it whilst it’s still warm and serve it with a scoop of ice cream.

   
   

9. Enjoy!