Vegan Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

Tuck into this Vegan Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread made with a simple dairy-free and eggless batter swirled together into a beautiful marbled pattern. Topped with plenty of vegan chocolate chips this loaf makes for a decadent sweet breakfast treat! Oil-free option included.

Vegan Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

Ingredients

Wet ingredients:

• 1 scant cup (150 g) mashed banana Use scant cup, 2 large or 3 medium (if your bread tends to bake gummy use 3/4 cup)
• 1/3 cup (66.67 g) sugar such as light brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup (59.15 ml) maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp cinnamon or both
• 2 tbsp oil omit to make oil-free, add a tbsp of shredded coconut for additional moisture
• 1/3 cup (78.86 ml) almond milk or use other non dairy milk such as light coconut or soy
• 1 tsp vinegar

Dry ingredients

• 1  3/4 cups (218.75 g) all-purpose flour I usually use 1 1/2 all-purpose and 1/4 cup of whole wheat or spelt or all 1 3/4 cup all purpose
• 1/4 cup (28 g) almond flour , or use more flour for Nutfree
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup (78.86 ml) boiling water

Topping

• 1/4 cups (135 g) vegan chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 365F (185 C) and line 9x5 inch pan with parchment.
• In a bowl mix all the wet ingredients until well combined
• In another bowl mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
• Add 1 3/4 cup of the dry mixture to the wet ingredient bowl and mix it in. Add the rest of the dry flour mix 1 tbsp at a time, until batter is stiff like a muffin batter.
• Divide the batter into two bowls.
• For the chocolate layer, mix the cocoa in a small bowl with 3 tbsp of boiling water, mix this into the first bowl.
• In the second bowl, add 1-2 tbsp of boiling water and mix in so that mixture is not that thick.
• Now you can assemble the loaf as you like with whatever pattern. I usually alternate the batters and spread them out for a marble effect. Once all of the batter is finished, top with the mini chocolate chips.
• Bake for 55-60 minutes. Check with a toothpick from the center of the loaf
• Cool the loaf for 10 minutes before taking it out of the pan, cool completely before slicing.

Notes

• To make this refined sugar-free, use coconut sugar.
• Want to make this loaf oil-free? You can omit the oil and add a tbsp of unsweetened shredded coconut instead.
• This loaf makes a great gift, and leftover slices can also be frozen for a rainy day when you need something sweet.
• I decided to add some vegan chocolate chips to the top both for presentation and because in my book there’s absolutely no such thing as too much chocolate. Feel free to skip them. You can also use chopped up bars of vegan chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Or walnuts.
• To make this banana chocolate loaf extra fancy, you could frost it with vegan chocolate frosting like a cake, or serve it with jam or vegan butter.  If you frost it, you can skip the chocolate chips.
• muffins: bake for 25-30 mins 
• Glutenfree: try these Glutenfree banana breads from the blog. Or use this blend and bake into marbles muffins for 25 mins. Mix 3/4 cup white rice flour, 1 1/4 cup almond flour, 1/3 cup potato starch, 1/2 tsp citric acid and 1 tbsp chia seeds/flax seed meal. Use 1 3/4 cup of the flour mix and add more as needed. 

Troubleshoot: 

- bananas and similar thick purées such as Pumpkin, Can sometimes be tricky in terms of moisture the add to the baked good. The inherently have a lot of moisture that they will release during baking. But there are thick so when you mix them with flower it feels like the batter is thick enough. Depending on the flour used(diff brands and types) and the flour measurement errors, One would tend to stop adding flour to the mix as the batter is thick, but you want to err on the side of stiffer batter. As if there is lesser flour than the moisture in the batter the bread will tend to be gummy (it will rise and then fall. Edges will feel done but it will be gummy or dense. - another reason for banana breads not rising or being too dense is baking powder. Old baking powders tend to not be able to help the bread rise enough. - ovens also differ in their heating so if the bread is gummy at the bottom, it might have needed extra bake time. 

https://www.veganricha.com/marbled-vegan-chocolate-banana-bread/