Banana Chocolate Rusks
A deliciously moist banana bread with swirls of chocolatey bits, that's then dried and ready to be dunked in your favourite warm drink (or enjoyed as is!)
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Servings: 28 rusks
Ingredients
- 250g/1 cup butter room temperature
- 400g/2 cups light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 460g/6 medium very ripe bananas
- 270g/1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 430g/3 cups cake flour loosely packed
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 50g/1/4 cup dark chocolate chips melted
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175℃/350°F. Line a 23x33cm baking pan with baking paper and nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer or some serious elbow grease, beat the butter and sugar until creamed, about 2 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix on low speed until just combined. Add the buttermilk, mashed bananas, and vanilla essence and beat until just combined. Note: do not overmix, otherwise you'll end up with a dense banana bread that's fallen flat (resist tastebud!).
- Place the chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Cook on high power until mostly melted. Stir until smooth, letting the residual heat in the bowl melt the remaining bits of chocolate. Add the cocoa powder and stir until dissolved. Add 1 1/2 cups of the banana bread batter to the melted chocolate and stir until well combined.
- Pour in the banana bread batter into the baking tin. Spoon dollops of the chocolate batter on top and gently fold in, using a knife, creating large swirls of chocolate batter. Note: don't overdo it or the colors will get muddled up. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick/cake tester comes out clean.
- Lightly loosen the edges and allow to cool in the pan until its reached room temperature. Lift the sponge out of the tray and slice into rusks, using a serrated knife. You'll aim to slice 4 sections from the length of the tray and 7 sections from the width, yielding 28 rusks in total. Slice as thick or as thin as you'd like, the thinner you slice them the faster they'll dry. This all depends on your personal preference. Note: I wouldn't cut them thicker than 4-5cm, otherwise they'll take forever to dry out. Also take note of the fact that the sponge will shrink while drying so take that into consideration as well
- Drying: Preheat the oven to 100℃/212℉. Lay the sectioned sponge out onto a baking tray that's been lined with a rack, ensuring the tray isn't overcrowded. Place in the oven, with the door slightly ajar (using a cloth) ,and dry for 2-6 hours or until fully dried. Note: the rusks must be fully dried otherwise they'll slowly start to soften and stale.
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Notes
Storage: Once the rusks have fully dried, store in an airtight container for 6 weeks to 2 months. But I promise you they won't last that long!