"It has Ovomaltine in it, doesn't it?"

"Yep."

"Well, surely that makes it a breakfast food?"

A common exchange in our kitchen that has been used to justify breakfasting on Ovomaltine Crunchy Cream, Ovomaltine Petit Beurres, and now this cake.

Ovomaltine is one of the best-known and far reaching Swiss exports, and although you can't get all the iterations of Ovomaltine products everywhere in the world, there are plenty of baking opportunities, like this one, that incorporate Ovo with abandon. More on Ovomaltine (and why it's sometimes called Ovaltine) here.

This banana bread is beyond simple to make, insanely chocolatey, and the Ovomaltine gives it a slightly sticky bite.

2 large or 3 medium ripe bananas

2 eggs

150 g plain yogurt

110 g golden syrup or honey

1 tbsp vanilla extract or paste

100 g flour

30 g ovomaltine powder

60 g cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

100 g chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F / gas mark 4.

Line a loaf tin with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas (you can use your hands, it's therapeutic). Whisk in the eggs, yogurt, golden syrup or honey, and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ovomaltine, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

Start folding the dry ingredients gently into the wet. Once they are mostly incorporated (there can still be streaks of flour) add the chopped chocolate and fold in. Do not overmix. 

Scrape into your prepared loaf tin.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the top is set and it starts to pull away from the sides.

• You can very neatly line your loaf tin—by measuring and cutting the parchment exactly—however, if you don't feel like fussing, you can cut a large rectangle of parchment, and press it into the pan, folding it into the corners. If you have too much overhang, simply trim it away.

• I think a very dark chocolate suits this banana bread best.

• For muffins, portion the batter into a muffin tin lined with muffin liners. Bake for slightly less time, about 30 minutes.