Chocolate marbled banana bread with a moist banana bread and moist chocolate banana bread swirled together, and studded with hazelnuts.
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chocolate marbled banana bread
Today we’re taking banana bread to the next level by marbling it with chocolate! The loaf is super easy to make – no mixer required and no need to make two different batters. All you need to do is mix some of the banana batter with some cocoa + espresso and you’ll end up with delicious moist banana bread & rich chocolate cake in every single bite.
So let’s get into it! 🙂
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before starting the recipe.
Mix the cake batter carefully:
It is super important to not overmix the cake batter or you end up with a tough and chewy cake rather than a light and moist cake. When alternating between adding the wet and dry ingredients, be sure to only mix just until the ingredient is fully combined and no more.
how to tell when your loaf cake is done.
It’s always a little game with telling if your loaf is done. Sometimes it will look done, but it’s still super wet in the center, and now that you’ve opened the oven door, you risk the loaf collapsing in the middle which is never desirable. I recommend waiting until at least 50 minutes to start checking for doneness. If the cake jiggles when you move it, it’s not ready to be checked on yet. When checking for doneness, you’ll want to take a long toothpick and stick it down the exact center of the loaf. If it comes out with a few moist crumbs, you’re good to take it out! If it’s still a little wet, put the loaf back in the oven, checking in 5-minute intervals for doneness.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for chocolate marbled banana bread:
banana bread:
- All purpose flour: gives the bread structure.
- Baking powder & baking soda: helps the loaf rise.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the batter.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the loaf and adding flavor. You can substitute in salted butter, just be sure to omit the extra salt in the batter.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetening the loaf and for keeping it moist.
- Eggs: for binding, moisture, and leavening.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
- Banana: you’ll need ~3 large very ripe bananas for this recipe. The more ripe the bananas are, the sweeter & more moist your cake will be.
- Sour cream: for moisture. You could also use a full-fat yogurt here.
- Dutch processed cocoa powder: to make the chocolate cake. I recommend dutch processed cocoa for the best flavor, but you could also use natural cocoa powder or black cocoa powder here.
- Espresso: to bloom the cocoa and make it taste more chocolatey – the taste of espresso doesn’t really come through, it’s just there to amplify the chocolate flavor. You could also use hot coffee or hot milk here.
- Hazelnuts: for baking on top of the banana bread, because it pairs perfectly with the banana & chocolate and adds a nice crunch. You could also top the loaf with pecans, almonds, or walnuts – or some sugar if desired.
how to make chocolate marbled banana bread:
Here’s a little bit of what the process of making this loaf looks like. The full recipe is at the end of this blog post!
- Mix together the wet ingredients for the banana loaf.
- Then fold in the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the cocoa and espresso, then mix in some of the banana batter.
- Layer the banana batter and chocolate batter in a loaf pan, then bake, serve, and enjoy!
chocolate marbled banana bread
recipe q&a
can I double this recipe?
Of course! I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results. Once you’ve doubled the batter, simply divide it up into two loaf pans to bake.
what size loaf pan do I need?
You will need a 1 lb. metal loaf pan for this recipe, I wouldn’t recommend a 1.25lb pan because you’ll end up with a shorter loaf. Please note that I always use and recommend metal baking pans, and if you choose to use ceramic or glass, the baking time will likely be much longer.
How to store this banana BREAD
Keep the cake stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It will taste the best on the day it’s baked, but will keep well for up to 3 days.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Chocolate Marbled Banana Bread
Ingredients
Banana Loaf
- 300 g banana (~3 large bananas)
- 100 g vegetable oil (½ c.)
- 200 g light brown sugar (1 c.)
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 60 g sour cream room temperature (¼ c.)
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 210 g all purpose flour (1 ¾ c.)
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
Chocolate Loaf
- 24 g dutch processed cocoa powder (¼ c.)
- 45 g freshly brewed espresso (1 ½ oz.)
- 100 g crushed hazelnuts (¾ c.)
Instructions
Banana Loaf
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Butter and line a 1 lb. loaf pan with parchment paper, to make a hammock for the loaf.
- Add the bananas to a large mixing bowl. Mash them well, then add in the oil, sugar, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Whisk vigorously until well combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Carefully mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until no flour streaks remain.
Chocolate Loaf
- In a small mixing bowl, mix together the cocoa powder and freshly brewed espresso until no lumps remain.
- Transfer 340g (1 ½ c.) of the banana batter into the bowl with the cocoa powder. Gently fold the chocolate into the banana batter until the mixture is cohesive.
- Alternate spreading a thin layer of the banana batter and chocolate batter into the loaf pan. Once all of the batter has been used, sprinkle the top of the loaf with crushed hazelnuts.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick/knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Allow the loaf to fully come to room temperature before slicing. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
Hi Erin. The cake looks delicious. Could you please suggest substitute for eggs?
Thank you so much! I haven’t tried this particular recipe without eggs but i’ve heard great things about flax eggs as a substitute!
Made this and it was sooo good! Subbed sour cream for dairy-free yogurt
This is the best banana bread I made so far! Compared to other recipes I tried, at first I thought the batter was too liquid and I was worried it wasn’t going to cook evenly but after 55 mins it was done and OMG! it ended up being perfect! So moist and soft and you can taste the banana all the way through! I loved the addition of fresh brewed coffee in the cocoa mix and took the permission to add some cayenne and cinnamon to spice it up. I must say though, I accidentally poured the cocoa batter straight into the banana’s one so calling mine a marbled banana bread would be a joke but the flavor is still amazing and I’ll definitely repeat this recipe again! Thank you Erin for sharing it ❤️🥰
Ah thank you so much, I’m so happy you liked this recipe! I’ll have to try it out with cayenne & cinnamon because that sounds delightful! 🙂
I love this recipe! It was really good. I already cooked it 2 times!
I am so excited to try this recipe. I wondered if you have ever substituted butter for the vegetable oil??
Hi Andrea! So sorry for such a late reply – I haven’t tried this with butter but I do recommend using oil as it gives you a more tender loaf! If you want to use butter, I’d recommend using 113g of melted butter. ☺︎