I bought some bananas earlier this week and they all turned as quick as a wink. They didn't last very long at all. I know you can freeze bananas to use later in baking, but I used one today to bake Todd these delicious Chocolate Chip Banana Brownies!
He loves them . . . they are everything a good brownie should be . . . dense, fudgy, and moist. They are only lacking in one thing that regular brownies have and that is a chocolate batter. Its not chocolate . . . it's banana fudge . . . stogged full of chocolate chips and topped with a brown sugar fudge frosting. Easy Peasy.
Bananas are really great for making cakes and bakes really moist and cutting back a bit on the fat that would normally be used. They also had a touch of natural sweetness . . . although in all truth these have plenty of sweet going for them by the use of brown sugar, which is also a great moistener . . .
Both in the batter and then in that delicious fudge frosting. The first time I tasted this kind of frosting was when I was in high school. My ex husband's mum used to bake these fabulous Caramel squares and they had a frosting just like this. We always called them "Camel" squares because when my ex copied the recipe down for me, he wrote camel instead of caramel! (I was collecting recipes even then!)
These squared are baked in an 8 inch square pan, and cut into 16 servings. In all truth and all joking aside, one of these at a time with a nice hot cup of something to drink is plenty! They are quite sweet. (Just like the Camel squares!)
They are studded with milk chocolate chips, but you could also use dark chocolate chips in their place. I like to stir them in with the flour and then sprinkle a few more on top prior to baking so that you have them evenly distributed throughout. Also stirring them in with the flour prevents them from sinking to the bottom.
I blitz the banana in my mini food processor so that it is really smooth and you don't end up with lumps of bananas in the squares. Sometimes lumps of banana are a good thing, but in a square fudgy brownie like this, you want them to have a smooth texture!!
*Chocolate Chip Banana Brownies*
Makes 16180g milk chocolate chips, divided (1 cup)
Preheat the oven to 180*c/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line an 8 inch square baking tin with non stick baking paper and spray with non-stick spray.
Beat together the melted butter and sugar to combine well. Beat in the egg, salt and vanilla. Beat in the banana. Sift the flour over top and sprinkle on 3/4 of the chocolate chips. Stir all well together and then spread into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the centre is set. Transfer to a wire rack and cool in the pan. Frost when almost cold.
To make the frosting, melt the butter in the saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and milk. Cook, stirring until it comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and cool for five minutes. Whisk in the icing sugar. Spread on top of the brownies. Let set until completely cold before cutting into squares.
Beat together the melted butter and sugar to combine well. Beat in the egg, salt and vanilla. Beat in the banana. Sift the flour over top and sprinkle on 3/4 of the chocolate chips. Stir all well together and then spread into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the centre is set. Transfer to a wire rack and cool in the pan. Frost when almost cold.
To make the frosting, melt the butter in the saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and milk. Cook, stirring until it comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and cool for five minutes. Whisk in the icing sugar. Spread on top of the brownies. Let set until completely cold before cutting into squares.
Oh, I do hope you have some really ripe bananas around the house so that you can bake these lovely bars this weekend! If you wanted to you could leave the chocolate chips out entirely and replace them with toasted pecans or walnuts. Either way, you are going to fall in love! Bon Appetit!
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