Choco-Chip Banana Lava Cake

Prep time – 10
Cook time – 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2 large ripe bananas (the size has
a bearing on the amount of flour.
My bananas were more medium sized.)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 C shortening
1 C granulated sugar
1.5 t vanilla extract
1/8 C Kahlua or other brand coffee liqueur
1/8 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 t soda
1/2 t salt
1/3 C or so of mini semi-sweet
chocolate chips

Direction:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix bananas, eggs, sugar, shortening, vanilla, coffee liqueur, with electric hand mixer until creamed. Add cocoa powder and part of the flour along with the salt and soda. Beat again to blend. Add the rest of the flour. Batter will be lumpy. Pour into full size loaf pan, well-buttered and floured. Put in center rack of oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool, slice and serve.
•  NOTES: Here’s the mistake that made the bread/cake/whatever…so amazing. I probably should have cooked it about 10 minutes longer, because the center was not quite done, even though it looked it. I’m guessing that the extra liquid along with me being shy on the flour ‘cause it looked like it was thick enough, was what led to this discovery. What happened is the very center, about 2 inches of it, was like a lava cake. Which is code for, “not done.” But in my world, I like to embrace boo-boos so I chose to act like this was on purpose. And if you let it cool about 40 minutes, and serve warm, it’s divine. If you let it cool completely, then the center is more pudding like. When it does cool all the way it becomes that wonderful, dense but bread-like structure of the familiar banana bread, which holds up nicely to any serrated knife and two hands for noshing with coffee or tea, or cold milk! Dang it if this wasn’t a happy accident. I might suggest you try it in muffin tins and cook for only about 25 minutes, and then you have little mini handfuls of joy!