This easy to make Banana and Chocolate Loaf is one of the best ways to use up overripe bananas. Spelt Flour and soft brown sugar add a slightly nutty flavour that I'm sure you will love.
Hardly a week goes by that I don't have a couple of overripe bananas left in my fruit bowl. You can use 'ready to eat' fruit in this recipe, but overripe ones will give a much sweeter flavour to any Banana Loaf or Cake recipe.
This recipe is adapted from my Spiced Banana and Hazelnut Loaf. Which has added flavours of Mixed Spice and Crunchy Hazelnuts. It also uses Spelt Flour.
If you're a bit of a chocoholic, try this Chocolate Tiffin or this Easy Chocolate Tray Bake Topped with a Chocolate Glaze. Have yourself a chocolate feast.
What you Need to Make a Banana and Chocolate Loaf.
- Spelt Flour - I've been using Spelt Flour quite a lot. I find it has a slightly nutty taste and I use it in a lot of my pastry tart recipes too.
- Plain Flour - If you don't want to use a mix of Spelt and Plain Flour. You can use all Plain Flour as an alternative to Spelt Flour
- Ripe Bananas - You can still use Ready To Eat Fruit, but the riper they are the better.
- Soft Brown Sugar - White Caster sugar will be fine.
- Cocoa Powder - Use 100%. Avoid using drinking chocolate. It may contain added sugars or sweeteners.
- Baking Powder - This is needed if you are using Spelt or Plain Flour which doesn't contain any raising agent
How to Make Banana and Chocolate Loaf
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. (Fig 1) Grease and line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
- Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until lighter in colour with a creamy texture. If needed, scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go along.
- (Fig 2) Add the eggs one at a time, adding a little flour to help prevent curdling. Mix, until well combined.
- (Fig 3) Sieve the flours, baking powder and cocoa powder together, then add to the cake batter. Add any residual wholemeal husks left from the wholemeal spelt flour. Mix until well combined.
- (Fig 4) Mash the bananas, then add to the cake batter, along with the vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- (Fig 5) Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven for approx 50 minutes, or until baked. Testing the centre of the cake with a skewer until it comes out clean.
- Leave in the tin for 10 – 15 minutes to cool a little before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Baker's Tips
- This cake with keep in an airtight tin for a couple of days.
- Use Overripe or Ready to Eat Bananas.
- If you don't have Spelt Flour, use plain instead. But note that the flavour and texture will be slightly different
- Using brown sugar adds depth and flavour to baking. But white caster sugar will be fine.
- Optional - Drop a few chocolate chips or nuts into the cake batter before baking.
Keen to Bake More?
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This post was first published in March 2019 and has since been updated with new images and additional information.
Banana and Chocolate Loaf
Equipment
- 900g/2lb loaf tin
- Stand Mixer
- Baking Parchment
INGREDIENTS
- 150 g butter softened
- 150 g soft brown sugar
- 2 eggs medium sized
- 125 g wholemeal spelt flour
- 100 g plain flour
- ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 large ripe bananas
- ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
- Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until lighter in colour with a creamy texture. If needed, scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go along.
- Add the eggs one at a time, adding a little flour to help prevent curdling.
- Sieve the flours, baking powder and cocoa powder together, then add to the cake batter. Add any residual wholemeal husks left from the wholemeal spelt flour. Mix until well combined.
- Mash the bananas and add to the Cake Batter, along with the Vanilla Extract. Mix until well combined.
- Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven for approx 50 minutes, or until baked, testing the centre of the cake with a skewer until it comes out clean.
- Leave in the tin for 10 – 15 minutes to cool a little before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
BAKER’S TIPS
- This cake with keep in an airtight tin for a couple of days.
- Use Overripe or Ready to Eat Bananas.
- If you don’t have Spelt Flour, use plain instead. But note that the flavour and texture will be slightly different
- Using brown sugar adds depth and flavour to baking. But white caster sugar will be fine.
- Optional – Drop a few chocolate chips or nuts into the cake batter before baking.
Katya Launder
Nice bake, well received by fussy dad on father's day! I used plain wholemeal instead of spelt as it was what I had. Thanks Lynn.
Lynn
Thank you, Katya. I'm so pleased it was liked on Father's Day. Wholemeal flour is an ideal alternative to Spelt.
Jean Lacey
Hi Lynne, I have some rye flour. Would that work in place of the spelt flour?
Lynn
I've had other bakers report that Rye Flour is a great alternative to Spelt flour as it's worked well on other similar recipes. It's still in short supply in my area, I'm looking forward to getting hold of some.
Jo
This is delicious. There’s a good balance in flavours between the Banana & chocolate
Deb Money
Looking forward to trying this, but I don’t have spelt flour...can you use ordinary flour, and if so, how much?
Lynn
Yes Deb. Use the same amount but in plain flour. So the total amount of plain flour would be 225g. You will still need the baking powder.
Alternatively, you could use 225g self raising flour, but you won't need the baking powder as that's already in the Self Raising flour. These are only suggestions and the sort of thing I would do when I don't have sufficient flours. I'm always mixing and matching.