Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread (Vegan)
I never quite understood the allure of banana bread except as a semi-healthy vehicle to use up old bananas that were about to go off. All of that changed when I came up with this recipe with it’s cake like crumb, moist interior, intense banana-ness, and swirl of dark chocolate. I broil ripe (not over ripe) bananas until they caramelize and reach a whole new level of complexity. Mmmm, no kidding this is outrageously delicious and super simple.
“Dress like you are going to meet your worst enemy today.”
-Coco Chanel
I own a pair of pants, so comfortable, so voluminous, that when I put them on I feel myself A Cloud in Trousers. (Yes Mayakovsky, I hear you rolling over in your grave.)
My daughter would call them happy pants.
Were my mother to spot me wearing them she would declare them birth control.
Did I mention they are magenta with large, yellow, fake collegiate number running up the sides?
My Aunt was a great seamstress. Her long fingers could replicate pictures of dresses my sister and I had torn from the pages of Vogue. Once she had taken my master measurements at the start of summer, I was not allowed to gain or lose weight; that was the bargain.
In the mornings I would find a measuring tape coiled on my breakfast plate, a humorous reminder from my puckish Uncle Torben.
My Aunt Helle, who we called Big Helle, would chide me daily:
“Hanne once you put on this dress, you must promise me, you will not exhale until you take it off. I have gone to so much trouble, please don’t ruin the line of this dress by breathing”
She herself was a great one for the long exhale. The moment she returned from work she would remove her fashionable hand sewn clothes, that fit to a T her slender frame, and shrug on a pair of ever so soft, ever so forgiving, hand sewn sweat pants and shirt.
She would sigh, and pulling on her elastic waistband, say:
“Hanne do you know how many potatoes I can eat in these pants?”
And today, dressed in my magenta happy pants I would counter her with:
“Do you know how many slices of banana bread I can eat in these pants?”
Check out my new Aquafaba page! For tips, tricks and to see all of my Aquafabulous recipes.
Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread (Vegan)
An intensely banana flavour. Moist beyond belief with a fine crumb, marbled with dark chocolate. Heavenly. Toasted with peanut butter this is the penultimate midnight snack
- 4 large bananas (peeled)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp aquafaba* (well reduced)
- 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese ( or tofu if you have no cream cheese)
- 1/2 cup vegan butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cardamum
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate
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Turn your oven to broil and place your peeled bananas in a metal pan and place it on the rack closest to your broiler. Let broil 5 minute and turn. Allow to broil until deep brown and the smell of bananas fill the kitchen.
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Remove from the oven and turn oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
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Blend the bananas, vanilla, aquafaba and cream cheese (or tofu) in a blender until completely smooth.
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Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, turmeric, cardamum and salt into a large bowl.
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Cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy using a hand or stand mixer. Mix the banana mixture into the creamed sugar and butter.
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Add the dry ingredients in 2 batches mixing well between additions. The batter will be quite stiff.
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Melt 1/2 cup of dark chocolate. Scoop out 1 1/2 cups of the batter and mix it into the melted chocolate.
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Grease and flour a loaf pan (9 by 5) and add the two batters in scoops of dark and light. Once the pan is full run a knife through the batter 5 or 6 times until you have a good swirl.
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Bake for 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before slicing.
*Aquafaba
I like to toss in a handful of coconut flakes into my banana bread. Also ground nutmeg and cloves, to give it some “bite.”
Oooh that sounds yummy!
Cake soo addicting Kyle sleep ate half a loaf, and we found it eaten in the morning. DANGEROUSLY DELICIOUS.
My bad. I should have put a warning label on it.
Looks amazing!
Gee Alison, thank you!