Chocolate banana bread

No wordy intro for this one, folks. This sweet bread is another holdover from before Europe, and its entire raison d'être was simply that I was craving chocolate + bananas at the time. I modified the recipe from Veganomicon to produce this lighter, lower-fat loaf that’s perfect for breakfast, snacktime, or dessert.

2 large ripe bananas, well mashed
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
2T molasses
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp instant coffee granules
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, applesauce, oil, sugar, and molasses.



Sift in the flour, cocoa, coffee, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.



Use a wooden spoon to fold the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined (do not overmix), then gently fold in the chocolate chips. You can use semisweet, milk, white, swirled, or just about any type of chip you please.



Transfer the batter to the prepared pan...



...and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.



Invert onto a cooling rack, then flip the bread right side up and let cool completely before slicing. I like to cut it into bite-size pieces for easy snacking. I must say, I still like my peanut butter banana bread better, but if you’re seeking the classic combo of chocolate + banana, this quick bread hits the spot.



Yield: 1 loaf (12 slices). Per slice: 205 calories, 7.3g fat (2g sat), 35g carbs, 3g fiber, 2.7g protein.

If you like this, you might also like…
PB–banana "Elvis" cupcakes
Choc-oat banana walnut cookies
Peanut butter banana bread

Deep chocolate bundt cake

I’m really not much of a chocolate person, but for some reason, every dessert I’ve wanted to make lately involves chocolate. I’m itching to make my white chip brownies again. I couldn’t resist adding those chocolate chips to my peanut butter banana bread. Speaking of bananas, I’ve been eating mine lately smeared with chocolate PB Loco. On top of all that, three of the four baked goods on my to-make list are chocolatey. It’s a little out of line with my usual tastes, but you know, I’m not going to fight it. Last week I accepted this chocolate phase with open arms and plunged right into it with an all-chocolate dessert. I made the low-fat bundt cake from Veganomicon, which is right up my nutritional alley.

1 3/4 cups brewed coffee
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease and flour (or sugar) a bundt pan. If you haven’t brewed your coffee, do so now. Check out my Senseo—I love it. I haven’t made drip coffee at home since I got it years ago. It’s quick and convenient, and it makes great coffee.



If your coffee is hot and fresh, like mine, mix in the cocoa powder until it’s dissolved. If your coffee has cooled, bring it to a simmer over medium heat, then turn down the heat and whisk in the cocoa. Set it aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, applesauce, and cornstarch until the sugar and cornstarch have dissolved, about 2 minutes. Mix in the extracts...



...and the cooled coffee/chocolate mixture.



Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. I really need a sifter; 2 cups of flour took a looong time to sift in my little sieve. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and beat until smooth. I highly recommend using a handheld electric mixer for all this mixing—my arm was pretty tired by the end.



Pour the (delicious!) batter into the greased bundt pan.



Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 20 minutes.



Invert onto a serving plate to cool completely. Once cooled, lightly sift some powdered sugar over it, cut, and serve.



This cake absolutely lives up to the hype. Calling it “deep” chocolate is no misnomer. The coffee intensifies the flavor of the cocoa powder, and the applesauce/oil ratio creates a perfectly moist crumb. It’s dense and rich, while remaining light and springy. One person who tried it likened its taste and texture to a Hostess cupcake! This would be the perfect dessert to bake for your Valentine. However you slice it (literally), this cake is mouthful after mouthful of excellence.



Yield: 16 slices. Per slice: 186 calories, 5.3g fat (.6g sat), 34.7g carbs, 2.9g fiber, 2.2g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
Peanut butter bliss cake
White chip brownies

Vegan lemon bars

I am not a fan of citrus. I won’t touch anything orange, and I tend to be wary of lemon- or lime-flavored foods. That trepidation evaporates, however, when lemon or lime (but still never orange) marries with sugar in baked goods. Lemon poppyseed muffins? I’m there. Key lime pie? Count me in. Lemon bars?! Yes, please! I finally got around to trying the lemon bar recipe in Veganomicon, and I can now concur with everyone else that it is a jewel.

But boy, did I take some liberties. First, I lightened it up: I decreased the crust amount by 1/4 (thus the funny flour measurement), and I’m glad I did—mine still had more than enough crust, especially considering the amount of filling. Secondly, I substituted ingredients: whole wheat pastry flour for all-purpose in the crust, and cornstarch for arrowroot in the filling (but feel free to use the original ingredients called for). Thirdly, I altered the crust-making method: I made it by hand instead of with my food processor (too many dishes!). Finally, I adjusted the flavors to my taste by adding a pinch of salt, decreasing the sugar just a tad (2T), and using water in place of a portion of the lemon juice to tone down the citrus (more on that below). I won’t lie, these bars are pretty time- and labor-intensive, but just remember—patience is bitter, but its fruit (lemon, in this case) is sweet.

For the crust:
1 1/4 cup + 1T whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup (sifted) powdered sugar
3T cornstarch
3/4 cup Earth Balance

For the filling:
1 1/3 cups water
3T agar agar flakes
1 cup + 2T sugar
Pinch of salt
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/2-2/3 cup lemon juice
3T cornstarch
1T lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
1/4 cup soymilk

A couple tips...
– If you use Earth Balance in stick form, you can rub the empty wrappers on your baking pan to grease it.
– You can make the crust in a food processor by whirring the dry ingredients together and then pulsing in the Earth Balance.

Stir together the flour, powdered sugar, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Cut in the Earth Balance with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.



Dump the mixture into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Press firmly into an even layer with slightly raised sides to hold in the filling.



Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes. (I stuck with 15, since I was using a glass pan and after working in a dishroom in college, I am paranoid of cold glass dishes shattering when put into a hot environment.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, soak the agar in the water for 15 minutes. While it soaks, zest and juice the lemon. I got 1/3 cup of juice from my lemon, and I used bottled juice for the remainder, but you can juice two lemons if you want. I put “1/2-2/3 cup lemon juice” in the ingredient list because the recipe calls for 2/3 cup, but to make it less citrus-y, I measured out 1/2 cup and then added enough water to equal 2/3 cup. Use all juice for the 2/3 cup, though, if you want stronger lemon flavor. Mix the cornstarch into the lemon juice to dissolve.



Remove the crust from the fridge and bake for 20-25 minutes (mine took 22) or until golden brown. (See below for what to do while it bakes.) Remove from the oven and let cool.



While the crust bakes, turn the heat up on the soaked agar and bring it to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes, or until the agar is completely dissolved. Add the sugar, salt, and turmeric and boil until dissolved, about 3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add the lemon juice/cornstarch mixture, then add the lemon zest and soymilk.



Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust and let cool for 20 minutes.



Then comes the hard part: refrigerate the bars for at least 3 hours or overnight. Sadly, this recipe is lacking the instant gratification factor—no dough/batter/etc. to sample, no option to dig right in as soon as they’re done. But again, be patient. When you pull these out of the fridge later on or the next day, you’ll find a fully jelled pan of bars so atomically yellow it probably belongs in a Lisa Frank ad.



Slice these babies up, sift some powdered sugar on top, and enjoy. The crust is delicate and melt-in-your-mouth buttery. The filling is akin to lemon jell-o, but with a softer, more substantial texture. Though not identical to egg-based ones, these vegan lemon bars are delicious in their own right.



Ahh, sweet success.



Yield: 24 bars. Per bar: 117 calories, 5.6g fat (1.8g sat), 16g carbs, 1g fiber, .7g protein.

Banana wheat germ muffins

I am way overdue on posting a baked good on this site. I love to bake as much as I love to cook, and great vegan sweets recipes are always exciting to find. So without further ado, I present to you a recipe from Veganomicon, slightly modified to fit my tastes.

1 cup soymilk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 very ripe bananas
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2/3-3/4 cup wheat germ
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the soymilk and vinegar and set it aside to curdle. You’re basically making vegan buttermilk. I only had half a cup of plain soymilk in my fridge, so I used vanilla soymilk for the other half cup, with no problem.

Peel those bananas and put them in a big bowl for mashing.



I use my pastry blender to mash bananas. It’s far faster and more comfortable than using a fork. Whatever you use, smash ‘em up good.



Add the soymilk, oil, sugar, and vanilla to the bananas. Check out my vanilla extract – I got that huge bottle in St. Maartens in the Caribbean for 6 BUCKS!



In another bowl, mix together the flour, wheat germ (mmm, vitamin E), baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. The recipe actually called for a tablespoon of cinnamon, but I’m not enough of a fan of it for an amount like that. I put in just a teaspoon.



Add the dry mixture to the wet and mix it gently with a wooden spoon, till it’s juuust moistened throughout. Now taste it. No, really. There aren’t even any eggs to worry about. This is not the time for self-control, people. This batter is AMAZING.

Deep down, I believe that my real reason for ever making cakes, cookies, or muffins is just to get to eat some of the batter.



The amount is perfect for 12 muffins. For the sake of portion control, though, I made mine a little smaller, and made 8 mini muffins with the remainder of the batter. Just for flair, I sprinkled the tops with a little more wheat germ and some cinnamon sugar before baking.



Put them in the oven and bake for about 22 minutes. As usual, I forgot that my oven cooks a bit faster than it should, so my muffins came out a little brown. I can assure you, though, it didn’t lower the yumminess factor one bit.



If only I had a good enough camera to take a picture of the inside of one. They were superlatively moist and superbly flavored.

See, vegan baking is not that scary, and in fact, the rewards are downright sweet.



Yield: 1 dozen muffins. Per muffin (made with 2/3 cup wheat germ): 168 calories, 7.3g fat (.6g sat), 23.3g carbs, 3.1g fiber, 3.5g protein.