I can’t help falling in love…

…with this moist, delicious Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Peanut Butter Frosting recipe – and neither will you, I promise!

Last Sunday was the late Elvis Presley’s birthday and although I am no fan of the King of Rock’s music, I sure am a fan of his favourite sandwich filling combo: Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Banana – I’m all shook up! 

However, I figured a simple sandwich recipe would not make a very interesting post, so in honour of Elvis, I have flipped his favourites to create a dreamy loaf cake and frosting mélange. The recipe is really easy to follow and with gob-smackingly tasty results – my husband said this dish achieved a “top 3” position in my baked goods charts. Honestly, I defy you not to devour the whole loaf in one sitting. The banana bread is choc full of banana flavour with delicious hits of chocolate throughout, while the frosting is light, creamy and extremely peanut-ty, but without being too sweet. It really is “The King” of baked goods!

This recipe is extremely fast and easy to prepare and, rather selfishly, it gave me the chance to use my brand new shiny KitchenAid® Stand Mixer for the very first time – how did I ever manage to live without one?! However, if you don’t have a stand mixer you can still achieve the same results with a hand mixer, or with a simple whisk and some good old fashioned elbow grease.

To start on the banana bread, first cream together the butter and sugar. Once a creamy consistency is achieved, add the beaten eggs and crushed bananas and combine well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and the salt. Add the dry mixture, vanilla extract and the chocolate chips to the wet mixture and mix until just combined – be careful not to over-mix!

Grease a loaf pan with butter or coconut oil and pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Leave the loaf to cool for 10 minutes before attempting to remove it from the pan. Then place it on a wire rack to cool before frosting.

Now it’s time to get to work on the magical peanut butter frosting – this is where my KitchenAid® Stand Mixer really proved it worth! Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and beat together, until a light and fluffy frosting forms. Don’t be tempted to shortcut on this step, the longer you beat, the lighter and fluffier the frosting becomes. This took around 2–3 minutes with the mixer, so be prepared for a good workout if you’re doing this by hand!

Once the cake is cool, simply frost and devour! You can either slice the loaf, as is, and top with a healthy dollop of frosting, or if you are of a more traditional disposition, simply slice the loaf horizontally and add a good layer of frosting to the middle, or add frosting to the top of the loaf. If choosing the latter, you could really go to town and add a garnish of chopped peanuts, chocolate chips, or both – go on, be a devil!

As well as writing this food blog, I also have the Arugula & Rocket Cook Shop, from which I share unique, practical and super cute products and gadgets that I’ve discovered during my travels across the globe – I hope you like them!

Do you have a recipe that you’d like to see on the blog? Have you made one of my recipes that you would love to share? Or have you discovered a great product that you cannot find in the shops? Simply email me at: info@arugulaandrocket.com – I’d love to hear from you!