Vegan Whole Wheat Double Chocolate Banana Bread

(jump to recipe)

Boy, that’s a mouthful. And so is this cake.

Please don’t click away because you read the words “vegan” and “whole wheat”! This bread isn’t the horrendous, overly healthy kind of bread. It’s a delicious Chocolate Banana Bread that just happens to be vegan and whole grain.

I have a regular go-to breakfast banana bread but sometimes, you need to indulge in chocolate to navigate through piles of winter greens, and there’s just no other way out. The whole wheat pastry flour works wonderfully here cup for cup, and by replacing the butter with coconut oil and egg with an additional large banana, the bread gets the “vegan” title in addition to being “whole wheat”, placing it squarely in the breakfast category (just with obscene amounts of chocolate).

This is a combination of many recipes from the past, and while I did document the quantities, I failed to take any pictures.

I have just a couple photos, and I think they might just do the trick.

As written, the cake tends to be a bit on the not-so-sweet side which I personally liked and the husband hardly noticed, but I have suggested using a 1/4 cup extra sugar, and also using bittersweet or semisweet chocolate instead of unsweetened (which is what I used). I also made a quick dairy-free chocolate drizzle (see recipe below) to put it over the top (heh), and nobody complained.

• Recipe •

Vegan Whole Wheat Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Makes 1 9*5 inch loaf

5 large very, very ripe bananas
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted then cooled (but still liquid consistency)
1/2 cup brown sugar (use 3/4 cup for a sweeter bread; dark or light doesn’t matter)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (I have made this with non Dutch-process cocoa powder as well, its just slightly less intense in taste and color but bakes just fine)
3/4 cup (100 grams) bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate, chopped roughly (use same quantity of semisweet chocolate for a sweeter bread; you could also use a mix of bittersweet and semisweet)

Preheat your oven to 350°F and generously coat a 9×5-inch loaf pan with coconut oil. Set aside.

Mash the bananas in the bottom of a large bowl with a fork and add the coconut oil, sugar and vanilla.

Mix the baking soda, salt, flour and cocoa powder on a parchment paper (easy cleanup, no mess) and then sift it over the banana mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine, but do not overmix. Add chocolate chunks or chips, and stir to combine. Batter will be thick but don’t fret, it will work itself out.

Pour batter into prepared pan spreading it evenly, and bake for exactly 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 20 minutes, then run a rubber spatula around the edges and gently invert it out onto a cooling rack. The cake was a bit fragile for my comfort when hot.

Serve at any temperature, with a dusting of powdered sugar and hot coffee or tea.

Wrapped well, the bread keeps on the counter for 5-7 days. I like to keep 4 slices or so (for week 1) out on the counter, and freeze the remaining slices – individually wrapped in wax paper – this way I can defrost one slice at a time for my afternoon chocolate fix!

Vegan Chocolate Glaze

Makes about a 1/4 cup

Handful of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (about 1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon of agave nectar

In a small, microwave-safe bowl, warm up the coconut oil for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave for an additional 10-15 seconds if it was too hard to begin with. While the oil is warm, add the chocolate chips and agave, and whisk with a fork. Microwave in 5-10 second bursts until the chocolate chips melt, stirring in between.

Note: you could do all of this in a double bowler too (place all the ingredients in a heatproof bowl and set it over a pot of simmering water, but not touching the water; stir till everything is melted and smooth) but it seems like too much of a hassle for this quantity.

Drizzle over everything. It is particularly divine over frozen banana slices or added to smoothies.

Glaze keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days, covered, and can be warmed up as needed.