Name: Chocolate Marble Banana Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 55 min
Ingredients: 2 cups bananas (about 4 over ripe); 2 Eggs; 1/4 cup Canola Oil; 1/2 cup Applesauce; 1 cup Sugar; 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract; 2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour; 2 teaspoons Baking Powder; 1 teaspoon Baking Soda; 1/2 teaspoon Salt; 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon; 1/8 teaspoon Cloves; 1/8 Nutmeg; 1/3 cup Cocoa Powder*

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My daughter's review of this Chocolate Marble Banana Bread... "It was very good. The texture and taste were amazing and the marble effect was really cool!"

Chocolate Marble Banana Bread on a blue plate

Well, with a review like that I knew that I definitely had to blog this recipe.

Chocolate Marble Banana Bread in a baking dish

We had several overripe bananas so I decided to make some banana bread. When my daughter asked what I was making and I told her, she immediately asked for chocolate chips in it. I told her no, and she groaned. What she didn't know was that I already had the cocoa powder out and was going to try something a little different.

She was really excited when she noticed what I was doing. To her, chocolate makes everything better. I wonder where she got that from? LOL!

Chocolate Marble Banana Bread batter in a baking dish

In order to make the marble, you need to pour most of the banana bread batter into your baking dish, reserving a cup or so of the mixture. Add the cocoa powder, stir, then dollop some of the chocolate mixture on top.

chocolate swirled into banana bread batter in a baking dish

Next, you need to take a knife and swirl the chocolate batter back and forth until you have a nice marble effect. It is that easy!

Chocolate Marble Banana Bread just baked with a slice removed

What I like about this Chocolate Marble Banana Bread is that it is somewhat low in fat. It has a small amount of oil and applesauce in it. The result is a loaf of moist and delicious banana bread.

This recipe was adapted from a recipe found in the How To Bake cookbook. I made a few adjustments and used a larger baking dish. I have no idea how I would have been able to get all that batter into a bread pan. It worked out really well. The best part, my family really enjoyed it. Moist, chocolaty, delicious... Chocolate Marble Banana Bread.

Chocolate Marble Banana Bread

2 cups Over Ripe Bananas - about 4 bananas
2 Eggs
¼ cup Canola Oil
½ cup Applesauce
1 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
½ teaspoon Salt
2 dashes or so Cinnamon
1 dash or so Cloves
1 dash or so Nutmeg
¼ - ⅓ cup Cocoa Powder*

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat an 8" x 8" baking dish with non-stick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl mash the bananas. Add the eggs, oil, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla. Mix well.

Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix until well combined.

Put most of the batter in the baking dish, reserving about 1 - 1 ½ cups of mixture.

Add the cocoa to the remaining batter. Stir well.

Drop dollops of the cocoa batter into the baking dish. Use a knife to swirl the chocolate batter into the banana batter to make the marble effect.

Bake the Chocolate Marble Banana Bread for about 45 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the bread.

Let cool slightly and enjoy!

* I used a ⅓ of a cup of cocoa powder and it tasted great. However, the cocoa batter was a little thick and it didn't get the marble effect I was looking for. Next time I might reduce the amount of cocoa to ¼ cup or maybe even add a little extra applesauce to loosen up the batter a bit.

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