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.
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!