Chocolate marbled banana bread

As you will know from my previous recipe for Banana Bread,  i'm a big fan!  So here is another favourite of mine, chocolate marbled banana bread. I follow my tradition banana bread recipe pretty closely except for the chocolate part.

I never usually top my chocolate banana bread but you could add an apricot glaze or even a chocolate ganache, but I don't think it needs it.

Ingredients

225g self-raising white flour

175g butter

150g caster sugar

2 ripe bananas

3 eggs

¹⁄₂ tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

pinch of cinnamon(optional)

For the chocolate marbling
3/4 cup of chocolate chips
1/4 cup of dark cocoa powder (or 1 sachet of Dr Oetker fine dark cocoa powder)

To decorate

Apricot jam for glazing (optional)

Dried banana chips and/or toasted walnuts (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170℃ and grease and line your loaf tin and set aside. I use a 1lb loaf tin.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until fluffy and light.
3. Mash the bananas and then add to the butter and sugar mixture, then add eggs , sift in the flour and cinnamon and mix well.
4. When you have your cake mix complete, I split it into roughly 2 portions, it doesn't have to be exact, and i add the cocoa powder and chocolate chips to one half and mix well.
5. Next place alternate large spoons of the chocolate mixture and normal banana bread mixture large into your greased loaf tin. You can try and make a swirl if you like, or just add random blobs, anything goes.
6. Bake at 170℃ for 1 hour, I check it after 45/50 minutes, it all depends on your oven here so don't over bake it, remember if you leave it to cool it in your tin as well, it will continue to cook with the heat. 
7. Cook until well risen and firm to the touch and a skewer to the center comes out clean. Remember if you have added chocolate chips here they will be melted so if you see melted chocolate on your knife its the chocolate chips.
8. Leave to cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes before turning out on wire rack to cool completely or you can just leave it to cool completely in the tin. 
9. If you want to decorate it , brush with warmed apricot glaze and either leave plain, or decorate with banana chips or toasted walnut halves.

Store: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Or freeze.