I made banana cake ages ago and it did not turn out just right. Today I ended up having so many over ripe bananas and thought, what can I do with these? Make banana bread? Banana cake/muffins? I did not want to just throw them out, so I gave it another go.

A new recipe was found and I have to disclose that I used Donna Hay’s recipe for Basic Banana Bread (I have not been paid to endorse this recipe or Donna Hay just tried it and thought it was great to share) and it was in fact very easy to follow and do with kids as well. My girls wanted to help me cook and one in particular was very fussy today and wanted to help mummy and stay close.

Over ripe bananas, just ready to be made into banana bread.

Before I knew it Lillian had jumped up onto the counter tops and was ready to help me make the banana bread. I helped Julia up as one could not just be up there. I was still organising all ingredients and did it while I followed the recipe as it made it easier.  The girls helped me.

The girls helping prepare the ingredients & sifting flour

The recipe called for the following(You can find this also on the link to the recipe above):

The girls sifting flour

The girls wanted to add an extra ingredient. What do you think they wanted added? Yep you guessed it chocolate. Hubby thought that banana bread would not be proper with chocolate bits, but I thought what the hell, why not give it a go.

One major failing was that I did not put in the golden syrup like the recipe asked for. This was neglected as I was too busy making sure super eager kids were not doing something they should not have! I only realised this fact after the tin with the mixture had gone into the oven. Oh well, I hope it tastes o.k.

I had a long wait until after dinner and then had to taste my banana bread. Will it be o.k? Will it be something that really needed the golden syrup, would the chocolate bits work? Who knew? It ended up being very yummy and I did not miss the golden syrup that I had missed out adding. Maybe when I make it again, I will add it. This way I will know what the taste should be and if I like it better without or with it.

The banana bread was delicious and the missing ingredient did not seem to matter, and the added chocolate worked so well. How good am I, and of course my wonderful assistants.

Have you made a winning banana bread recipe? Did you change it to suit you and the family? Or did you accidentally forget something that made it different and more you? Send in your comments. Thanks to Donna Hay for the wonderful recipe and giving us a yummy desert tonight.