Chocolate Banana Bread – Moist and Easy
I always have bananas in my fruit bowl, which means I constantly find a few that are very ripe and fragrant – just when eating them on their own feels less appealing. That’s exactly when they’re perfect for baking: their aroma is more intense and their texture incredible. I love bananas in desserts in any form – in sponges, purées, chunks, inserts and creams – and a banana bread is always a good idea.
The ingredients
Banana bread ingredients are simple, and they start from the idea that bananas bring not only flavour, but also texture and a good amount of sugar. That’s why you want very ripe bananas – brown on the outside and soft inside. The rest of the ingredients, from brown sugar to butter, add flavour, and the cocoa makes every slice even better.
Interestingly, bananas can be a little cloying raw, but they become much more fragrant once baked. They also act as a binder, which is why so many vegan recipes use them – like our vegan carrot cake muffins.
Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 400 g very ripe banana (mashed)
- 90 g butter (melted)
- 30 g neutral vegetable oil
- 50 g egg
- 5 g vanilla extract
- 130 g light brown sugar
- 150 g plain white flour
- 6 g baking powder
- 2 g baking soda
- 2 g salt
- 50 g dark cocoa powder
- 1 banana (halved lengthways, for the top)
Instructions
- Combine the mashed banana, melted butter, oil, egg and vanilla.
- Add the brown sugar and mix well.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa all at once and mix until combined.
- Pour into a 20x10cm loaf tin.
- Top with the banana halves.
- Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 40–45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin.
More loaf cakes: marble bundt cake and citrus loaf cake.
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