To be fair, this drool worthy loaf could actually be cake, disguised as “banana bread” in order to make it sound healthier. It’s one of those super decadent & delicious beauties that when you serve it to your friends & family, they won’t have a clue how real food focused, gluten & dairy-free, or vegan, and health supportive it actually is! Ha ha ha (she-devil laughing 😈)!
So, you could totally make it into a larger square brownie pan and call it dessert for sure, serve it up with some coconut whip cream or ice cream and even get away with it at a birthday party. No kidding 😉
Note: Cupcakes/muffins would definitely work too, although you would need to adjust the baking time.
That all being said, it should probably come with a warning: you may want to devour the entire thing in one sitting!! So take appropriate precautions: hide it from smaller fingers or nibbling kitchen invaders, and find a special time to cut yourself a lovely slice, sit down with your novel or your cat, tune in, and savour every bite instead! You deserve it.
Decadent Chocolate Banana Bread
(adapted from: Smitten Kitchen)
Makes 1 loaf
1 flax egg: 1 Tbsp ground flax + 3 Tbsp water
3 medium, overripe bananas
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup coconut sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp himalayan sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup gluten free flour blend (I use this one)
1/2 cup cacao powder (definitely use the good stuff here!)
1 cup high quality chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat your oven to 350F. Line your loaf pan with parchment.
In a small bowl, make your flax egg by combining ground flax with water. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Add oil, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and continue to mash with your fork. Add in flax egg.
Add flour and combine well with a fork, batter should be quite smooth. Lastly, stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
Pour batter into lined loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to completely cool before cutting (warning: this will be hard 😫 but you can do it!).
If you make this banana bread/cake/cupcake/decadent deliciousness, please drop me a comment below and let me know how yours turned out!! And please share around the recipe with others who could use a little chocolatey goodness in their lives ♥️