I’m excited to be sharing this Vegan Chocolate & Salted Toffee Banana Bread recipe with you. I’ve been seeing a ton of people baking banana bread throughout this isolation. And hey, I’m definitely one of those people!
As a result of my baking endeavours, I have tried out a variety of different vegan banana bread recipes. Some good, some not so good, some very bad. I dissected these recipes and compiled all of my favourite banana bread traits into one perfect (I’m a little biased) loaf.
Traits of a Great Banana Bread
Firstly, I discovered that I like a 1:1 ratio of white to whole wheat flour in my banana bread; the whole wheat makes the loaf a little denser and nuttier, which I like. However, I also included a gluten-free option using a gluten-free blend!
I also prefer natural sweeteners in my banana bread. I used maple syrup in this recipe rather than refined sugars. The naturally occurring minerals and antioxidants in the maple syrup reduce the occurrence of blood sugar spikes.
To prevent a pile of dishes in my sink, I prefer one-bowl banana bread recipes. So this recipe will save you some clean-up time!
I also discovered that I like large chunks of chocolate in my banana bread. The best way to achieve that is by chopping up a high-quality chocolate bar.
Zazubean Chocolate
In this recipe, I decided to use Zazubean’s Cheeky Salted Toffee & Banana chocolate. It’s 70% dark chocolate, so it’s not too sweet for this loaf. Not only do the flavours of Salted Toffee and Banana pair well with this banana bread, but Zazubean is a passionate company that I love to support. This chocolate is completely vegan, gluten-free, and organic. Zazubean also works by Fair Trade standards. They provide all of their hard-working international producers and growers with fair compensation for their cacao and other ingredients. I have so much respect for this company!
This bar also contains maca. Maca is a medicinal root that has traditionally been used to increase energy, to balance hormones, improve moods, and can be an aphrodisiac! What more could you want from a bar of chocolate? You can learn more about Zazubean here.
Try out this recipe for yourself!
Vegan Chocolate & Salted Toffee Banana Bread
Chocolate & Salted Toffee Banana Bread (vegan)
Ingredients
- 4 small or 3 large overripe bananas about 1 1/2 cups, mashed
- 1/3 cup neutral-flavoured oil or sub applesauce
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or sub sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 cup unbleached white flour or sub for a gf blend
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour or sub for more gf blend or spelt flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup Zazubean Cheeky Salted Toffee & Banana 70% Dark Chocolate chopped
- 1 tsp cinnamon optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your loaf pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas.
- Add oil (or apple sauce), maple syrup (or sugar), and vanilla extract, almond milk, to the bowl and mix.
- Add the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon (optional), and salt, to the same bowl and mix well, but don’t overmix, just enough until the flour is combined. Batter will be slightly thick and a few lumps is ok.
- Lightly fold in the chopped Zazubean chocolate (don't over mix!)
- Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour.
- Test if the loaf is ready by poking a toothpick into the thickest part of the bread. If it comes out clean, it's done. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 min before slicing.
I hope you enjoy this recipe!
If you don’t have the pantry items to make this recipe, try out Amazon. They are prioritizing shipping out grocery items right now so we don’t have to go to the grocery store as often! There’s maple syrup, baking soda, coconut oil, etc. available for 2-3 day delivery for Prime. Check it out — I just put in an order myself. And if you buy through my links, I get a small kickback!
Let me know if you end up making this Vegan Chocolate & Salted Toffee Banana Bread! Post a picture of it on Instagram and tag both @Naturally_Makayla and @zazubean
If you like this recipe, you may also like this Berry Crumble recipe or this Spinach and Hemp Seed Pesto recipe.
