thepassionatecook: Banana, chocolate & pecan nut cake

Sometimes things turn out best when you improvise. I found myself at home, wanting to bring a cake to a meeting with friends in the afternoon, but could not leave the house for various reasons - so I had to use what I had at home... since my pantry is in dire need of a clean-up anyway, as it's only through a miracle that is hasn't burst just yet, I took the opportunity to use up some dark chocolate and nuts - both nearing their best-by date.
For some oomphf, I added bananas that had also seen better days... although I hate nothing more than unripe bananas (they taste like cardboard, don't you think?), I don't like them when they're already beginning to get covered in brown speckles, so my window of opportunity for eating bananas is more like the eye of a needle!
But if using them in cakes and desserts, you can perfectly mask a very ripe banana...
Despite the fact that I was doing it in a rush, the cake turned out really nice and fluffy - although there was none of the stiff egg whites business... and it only took under an hour from start to finish. Perfetto!

Banana, chocolate & pecan nut cake
(yields 12-16 slices)

300 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
210 g butter (room temperature)
4 eggs
250 g icing sugar
100 g pecan nuts (roughly chopped)
200 g self-raising flour
3 bananas

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C.
Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie or in the microwave, then stir in the butter. Beat in the eggs and sugar, then gradually add the flour. Mash up the bananas and fold into the cake mixture with the nuts.
Line a deep baking tray with baking parchment, pour in the dough and bake for 30 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool before cutting up and serving, dusted with icing sugar.