Banana, chocolate and tahini loaf cake

Name: Banana, chocolate and tahini loaf cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: Makes 10-12 slices
Cuisine: Fusion recipes
Ingredients: 2 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (about 250g); 2 tbsp tahini paste; 35g dark chocolate, chopped; 170g butter, softened; 125g golden caster sugar; 5 tbsp runny honey; 2 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten; 225g self-raising flour; 1 tsp ground cardamom (from about 6 pods, ground in a pestle and mortar); 2 tsp sesame seeds; Crème fraîche and espresso coffee with a favourite spirit or liqueur to serve (optional); You’ll also need; Electric mixer; 900g loaf tin, greased with butter and the base lined with compostable baking paper

Portion size: Makes 10-12 slices
Hand-on time 20 min, oven time 1 hour 10-15 minutes, plus cooling
Difficulty: easy

Freezable

Vegetarian

Recipe by: Louise Pickford

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This banana and chocolate loaf uses tahini, cardamom and sesame seeds to bring a Middle Eastern slant to a classic teatime treat. It’s perfect as an afternoon tea with friends, or for showing your mum you care on Mother’s Day.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for a banana bread recipe that’s completely bananas, try this off-the-wall, American-inspired banana monkey bread recipe.

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Ingredients

2 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (about 250g)
2 tbsp tahini paste
35g dark chocolate, chopped
170g butter, softened
125g golden caster sugar
5 tbsp runny honey
2 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
225g self-raising flour
1 tsp ground cardamom (from about 6 pods, ground in a pestle and mortar)
2 tsp sesame seeds
Crème fraîche and espresso coffee with a favourite spirit or liqueur to serve (optional)

You’ll also need

Electric mixer
900g loaf tin, greased with butter and the base lined with compostable baking paper

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Method

Heat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/gas 3. Mash the bananas and tahini together until well combined. Melt the chocolate in a small bowl set over a small saucepan of simmering water, stirring until melted (don’t let the base of the bowl touch the water). Set aside.
Put the butter, sugar and 4 tbsp of the honey in a large mixing bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until pale and soft. Gradually beat in the eggs, whisking well after each addition, until the mixture is pale and creamy. Add the banana mixture and stir well.
Sift over the flour and ground cardamom, then fold into the cake mixture using a balloon whisk. Transfer about a quarter of the cake mixture to a separate bowl, add the melted chocolate to it and stir until evenly combined.
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Spoon half the remaining regular cake mixture into the prepared tin, then add the chocolate mixture, swirling them together. Finally, add the remaining regular cake mixture and swirl again. Smooth with a palette knife, making a shallow indent down the centre.
Scatter over the sesame seeds and bake for 1 hour 10-15 minutes until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean and is hot to the touch.
Drizzle the remaining honey over the cake and leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool (see Make Ahead). Serve the cake in slices with, if you like, a little crème fraîche and a boozy espresso.