Description
Dark chocolate banana bread is rich, dense and full of delightful chocolate-banana flavor. Perfect for breakfast or snacktime!
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 medium bananas, very ripe, divided
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted*
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks or chips*
- 1 tablespoon demerara sugar, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Place a parchment paper sling (see Notes) inside a nonstick 9×5-inch loaf pan. Spray bottom only with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, mash 3 bananas until as smooth as possible. Whisk in melted butter, then stir in brown sugar, egg and vanilla.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk or sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.
- Pour and spread batter into prepared loaf pan. Slice remaining banana lengthwise into 3 even-size planks, then place on top of loaf; press down gently. Sprinkle with demerara sugar, if desired.
- Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes, then use parchment paper sling to gently remove from pan. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days, or up to 1 week refrigerated.
Notes
- *To make this banana bread dairy-free: Swap butter for melted coconut oil and use dairy-free chocolate chips (I love this brand!).
- Do not swap the Dutch-process cocoa powder for regular unsweetened cocoa powder. You can read more about why and when it is important to use Dutch-process cocoa powder in the Notes portion of my Devil’s Food Cake recipe.
- To make a parchment paper sling, cut one strip of parchment as long as the pan (in this case, 9 inches) and wide enough to hang over the longer edges of the pan on both sides by about 2 inches. Place strip inside loaf pan, then spray bottom only with cooking spray.
- You know that funny “lip” some quick breads can get on the top edges? You can avoid the lip by spraying the bottom of the loaf pan ONLY — not the sides. Spraying the bottom + using the parchment sling will help you get the loaf out of the pan with ease, and there will be no lip!