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

PB–banana “Elvis” cupcakes

These cupcakes from VCTOTW are a tribute to the legend of Elvis’s favorite sandwich. Since my dad is an Elvis buff, I made these for Fathers Day. I only withheld them this long because I’ve posted too many damn cupcakes in the last couple months! But I can’t keep these to myself any longer; they’re just too, too good. I made a half batch of frosting because I chose to just top them instead of also filling them, but feel free to double it if you want them filled.

For the cupcakes:
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup soymilk
2 tsp vanilla

For the frosting:
2T Earth Balance, softened
1T shortening
Scant 3T creamy peanut butter
1 tsp molasses
1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-4 tsp soymilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin or a 24-cup mini muffin tin with paper liners and coat with cooking spray. In a large bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, soymilk, vanilla, and banana (make sure it's very well-mashed).



Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, add the wet mixture, and fold in until just combined.



Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.



Bake for 20-22 minutes for regular cupcakes, or 15-16 minutes for minis. When done, let sit in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Look at those pretty lil domes!



With an electric handheld mixer, cream together the Earth Balance and shortening at medium speed until smooth. Add the peanut butter, molasses, and vanilla...



...and beat until very smooth, 2-3 minutes. Beat in sugar a little at a time (mixture will be very stiff).



Dribble in the soymilk a little at a time, beating continuously until frosting is pale tan and very fluffy.



I used my fancy schmancy piper to frost these, but it turned out I needn’t have bothered to do such a pretty job—after awhile at room temperature, the frosting softens and becomes slightly melty. No matter; it doesn’t affect the taste at all. After frosting, you can garnish the cakes with banana chips or crushed peanuts if you like.



I LOVED LOVED LOVED these. I know I say I love a lot of things, but these are my favorite cupcakes I have ever made. They beat out such heavy hitters as pumpkin chip, mousse-filled hazelnut, tiramisu (a CLOSE runner-up), and German chocolate. That’s a big deal! My favorite smell is the world (which I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned) is fresh-baked banana bread, and when you top that with a frosting made with my beloved friend peanut butter, my heart (/tummy) can’t help but flutter.



Yield: 12 regular or 24 mini cupcakes. Per cupcake (regular): 237 calories, 11.2g fat (1g sat), 32g carbs, 2g fiber, 3.1g protein.
Per cupcake (mini): 119 calories, 5.6g fat (.5g sat), 16g carbs, 1g fiber, 1.5g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
German chocolate cupcakes
Dreamy creamy tiramisu cupcakes
Hazelnut cupcakes w/chocolate mousse filling

Choc-oat banana walnut cookies

Some people shy away from recipes with flavor profiles that are too "busy." I, on the other hand, tend to be intrigued by such recipes, where the numerous main ingredients sound complementary on paper, but the only way to know if they really merge well is to try it and see. These cookies, peculiar as they are, receive a definite thumbs-up.

Randomly enough, these are apparently Susan Sarandon’s favorite cookies. I found the recipe in Health magazine, and changed a few things. I used whole wheat pastry flour in place of oat flour. For the oats, all I had were the quick-cooking kind, and they worked just fine. I reduced the oil a bit and replaced it with some applesauce to lower the fat a tad, but you can just use 1/3 cup canola oil if you don’t want to mess with the applesauce. I recently bought some of the new SoDelicious unsweetened coconut milk, and I’m loving using it in recipes. It’s a refrigerated product, and it’s not like what you get in the cans; it’s much thinner and lower-calorie (though using canned coconut milk could be yummy too). Feel free to use good old soymilk instead. Also, in retrospect, a spoonful of ground flaxseeds would have been a great addition to these.

One thing I wish the recipe had said is to pat down the cookies (or press them down with a fork) before baking. Mine remained ball-shaped. They still tasted great, but obviously lacked a little in the looks department. Other than that, though, the recipe is sound. Oh, and the cooking time is not a typo, believe it or not.

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup quick or old-fashioned oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
3T canola oil
Heaping 2T unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk (or soymilk)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 ripe banana, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, applesauce, coconut milk or soymilk, and vanilla.



Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir to combine.



Fold in the banana, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Scoop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the pan. These cookies won’t spread, so you can put them close together if you want. Do what I didn’t do and press them down lightly with your fingers or a fork before baking.



Bake for 25 minutes (yes, really) or until golden brown, turning the baking sheet halfway through. Let cool on a wire rack.



Fresh out of the oven, these are soft and chewy inside with just the slightest crust on the outside. After sitting overnight (in an airtight container), they become tender throughout. The oats and walnuts provide great texture, and the banana flavor comes through brightly but not overwhelmingly. The chocolate chips are a great extra burst of sweetness in an overall not-too-sweet cookie. These are interesting, unique, and delicious—I hope you try them and enjoy them as much as I did.



Yield: 16 cookies. Per cookie: 124 calories, 5.4g fat (1.2 sat), 18g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 2.2g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
Chocolate peanut butter cookies
Chocolate chip cookies
Pumkpin oatmeal cookies

Peanut butter banana bread

This recipe comes courtesy of the Peanut Butter Boy, Nick. I’ve bookmarked a number of recipes in his archives, but this one really jumped out at me this week. And since tomorrow is National Peanut Butter day, what better way to celebrate?

I did alter the recipe quite a bit. First, and most obviously, I halved it. As a result, some measurements ended up funny, so I decreased the sugar just a tad, and added a touch of macadamia nut oil to replace the missing smidge of peanut butter. Since banana can actually be used as an egg replacer, I took out the egg and upped the amount of banana just slightly (which also made up for the small decrease in sugar). Vanilla soymilk stood in for milk, and finally, I used just a handful of peanut-butter-and-chocolate swirled chips instead of chopped dark chocolate. You can use those, or peanut butter chips, or chocolate chips, or a mixture, or chopped walnuts, or nothing at all...really, you can’t go wrong.

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3T white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup soymilk
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 tsp nut oil (optional)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate or peanut butter chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, combine the mashed bananas, soymilk, peanut butter, oil, and vanilla.



This recipe is not only customizable, as demonstrated above, but forgivable as well. I only had one large banana instead of two medium, so I added about 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin puree to make up for it. Since I lost out on a little banana flavor that way, I also used my PB Loco Jungle Banana for half the peanut butter. I’m telling you, you really can’t go wrong with this.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir just until combined.



Gently mix in the chocolate/peanut butter chips.



Pour the batter into the pan...



...and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.



It’s not at all unusual for veganized baked goods like this not to rise very much (at least in my experience), so don’t worry that it’s rather flat. Allow it to cool for awhile before slicing it. I lasted about 10 minutes.



Once you taste this baby, you won’t care one bit how squat or stodgy the loaf is. Its texture is dense, chewy, and rich (not unlike that of my peanut butter bliss cake), with a moist peanut butter backdrop and the fragrant flavor of banana woven throughout. Positively heavenly.



Yield: 1 loaf (12 slices). Per slice: 175 calories, 6.6g fat (2.2g sat), 25.3g carbs, 2.9g fiber, 4.5g protein.

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

White chip brownies

The brownies I made on Sunday afternoon turned out even better than I'd hoped. I didn't change anything in the recipe, but I did add something. Sadly, the addition of the white chocolate chips robs these brownies of the official designation of "vegan," but they're still damn close. To keep them vegan, just leave out the white chips, or use regular chocolate chips, or perhaps substitute some chopped walnuts...ideas abound.

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
1/4 cup canola oil
1 small ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup plain or vanilla soymilk
1T flaxseed meal
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or addition of choice), optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.



Melt the chocolate chips with the canola oil in the microwave at 50% power, stirring until smooth. Whisk in the banana and sugar.



Combine the soymilk, flaxseed meal, and vanilla in a measuring cup, then fold into the chocolate mixture.



Stir the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.



Gently fold in the white chocolate chips or other add-in, if using. And yes, taste the batter.



Spread in the prepared baking pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the side of the pan comes out dry, but the middle is still soft (mine took 20). Cool in the pan on a wire rack.



SO GOOD. They were far moister than I expected - these are not the dense and chewy type of brownies, but the soft, luscious, cakey kind. I was mildly concerned that the banana flavor would come through too strong, and was surprised to find out that even though the inclusion of banana is just barely detectable, it's actually a pleasant top note against the richness of the chocolate. You can't even complain about these nutritionally! Ah, at last...I may have finally discovered my perfect brownie.



Yield: 16 brownies. Per brownie (with white chocolate chips): 151 calories, 7g fat (2.2g sat), 20.5g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 2g protein.
Per brownie (without chips): 111 calories, 5g fat (1g sat), 15.4g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 1.5g 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.