Raspberry Dark Chocolate Banana Bread: A Sweet and Tart Twist on a Classic Quick Bread

Raspberry Dark Chocolate Banana Bread, Recipe Boy

Some of the best recipes in our family did not come from a cookbook. They came from a kid standing at the kitchen counter with three overripe bananas and a big idea.

Back in 2012, my son Brooks, who baked and blogged as RecipeBoy, decided that plain banana bread deserved a little more personality. He mashed the bananas, stirred in dark chocolate, and then gently folded in fresh raspberries.

The loaf that came out of the oven was sweet, tart, and gone before it had fully cooled. We have been baking this Raspberry Dark Chocolate Banana Bread ever since.

Brooks was a young teen when he created it, and the recipe was published in a kids’ cookbook called Future Chefs.

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When he was a featured author for that cookbook at a Barnes and Noble bookstore event, he shared raspberry dark chocolate banana bread muffins with his fans. He was nervous right up until the first person took a bite and asked for the recipe.

That day still makes me smile, because it proved something I have always believed: a simple loaf of bread can carry a whole lot of heart.

Have you ever pulled a quick bread out of the oven and watched it vanish before it cooled? That is exactly what happens here. The dark chocolate brings a deep, slightly bitter edge.

The raspberries bring a bright pop of tartness. The banana holds everything together with that soft, homey sweetness we all love. It is the kind of recipe that makes a regular Tuesday feel like a small celebration.

Ingredients Needed:

Nothing on this list is hard to find. You need ripe bananas and fresh raspberries for this one, and it always disappears fast. If your bananas are still firm and yellow, give them another day or two on the counter until the peels are speckled and the fruit feels soft when you press it.

• 2 cups all purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon for tossing the raspberries
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana, about 3 bananas
• 1/3 cup plain low fat yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
• 1 cup halved raspberries, tossed in 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

The yogurt is the quiet hero of this loaf. It keeps the crumb tender and adds a gentle tang that plays nicely against the dark chocolate. The batter also comes together with basic equipment: a medium bowl, a large bowl, an electric mixer, a whisk, a spatula, and a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

I stick with fresh raspberries here, since they hold their shape better in the batter. When you halve them, cut them lengthwise so each piece stays fairly large.

Bigger pieces hold up in the oven and give you soft pockets of fruit instead of a pink streak running through the loaf. Then toss them in that tablespoon of all purpose flour and set them aside until the very end.

How to make Raspberry Dark Chocolate Banana Bread:

This loaf comes together in about 15 minutes of prep, and most of the work is stirring, so there is no reason to feel nervous. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

1. Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 cups of all purpose flour, the baking soda, and the salt.
2. Cream the sugar and butter. In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended, about 1 minute.
3. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well after each addition so the batter stays smooth.
4. Beat in the wet ingredients. Add the mashed banana, the yogurt, and the vanilla, then beat until everything is blended.
5. Stir in the flour mixture. Fold it in just until moist. Do not over mix, or the loaf will turn out dense instead of tender.
6. Add the chocolate and raspberries. Stir in the chocolate chunks, then gently stir in the raspberries. If you want a prettier top, sprinkle a few extra chocolate chunks and raspberries over the batter.
7. Bake. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool. Let the loaf cool for 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack, then remove it from the pan and let it cool completely on the rack.

The finished batter is thick and a little lumpy, and that is exactly what you want. It should hold a spoonful without running off, and you should still see chocolate chunks and raspberry pieces peeking through.

One note that matters more than any other: the moment you add the flour, slow down. A few streaks of flour disappearing into the batter is your signal to stop stirring. Over mixing develops gluten, and gluten is what turns a soft quick bread into something chewy and heavy.

Another small habit that pays off is tossing the halved raspberries in that tablespoon of flour before they go in. The flour coating helps keep the berries from sinking to the bottom of the loaf and gives you little pockets of raspberry all the way through instead of one jammy layer at the base.

Here are a few quick tips I lean on every time I bake this loaf:

• Use bananas that are truly ripe. Speckled, soft bananas mash smoothly and bring more natural sweetness.
• Bring the butter to room temperature before you start so it creams evenly with the sugar.
• Check the loaf at 50 minutes, and keep testing every few minutes after that until the pick comes out clean.
• Let the loaf cool completely before slicing. A warm loaf crumbles, and the chocolate needs a few minutes to settle.

If your oven runs hot, start checking at 50 minutes and keep going until the pick is clean. Every oven is a little different, and the pick test is the only judge that matters.

What I Love About This Recipe:

There are three reasons this recipe holds a permanent spot in our rotation.

First, it means a lot to our family. Brooks created it as a young teen, and seeing his name in a published kids’ cookbook was a proud moment I will never forget. Every time I bake it, I think of him at the counter with chocolate on his fingers.

Second, it is a wonderful afternoon sweet snack. A thick slice with a cup of coffee or a glass of cold milk hits the spot in a way that a plain cookie never quite does.

Third, it does double duty as a dessert. Warm it for a few seconds, add a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, and nobody will guess it started as banana bread.

You can certainly eat this loaf at breakfast, but I do not recommend it. It is quite sweet, so it works much better as a snack or a dessert. After it cools, the middle should still be moist, soft, and slightly tender, never dry.

That moisture is the sign that you stirred just enough and pulled it from the oven at the right moment.

Slice it thick, about an inch per piece, so every bite has a good balance of chocolate, raspberry, and banana. It also travels well to a backyard cookout, because it needs no refrigeration and slices cleanly once it has cooled.

Here is how the nutrition breaks down per serving, which is one slice of a 12 slice loaf:

One loaf makes 12 slices, so this is an easy bake to bring to a potluck, a bake sale, or a neighbor who could use a little sweetness.

Favorite Banana Bread Recipes:

If you love this loaf, you will want to keep the banana bread baking going. These are the other banana bread recipes we come back to again and again:

• Gluten Free Banana Bread
• Brownie Banana Bread
• Kona Inn Banana Bread
• Sour Cream Banana Bread
• Snickerdoodle Banana Bread

Each one takes the same familiar idea in a slightly different direction. Brownie Banana Bread leans into the chocolate side, while Snickerdoodle Banana Bread brings the warm cinnamon sugar flavor we all know from cookies.

Gluten Free Banana Bread is the one to reach for when someone at the table avoids gluten, and Sour Cream Banana Bread is a longtime classic for good reason. Bake one this weekend, then bake another next weekend. That is how family recipes get started in the first place.

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Raspberry Dark Chocolate Banana Bread, Recipe Boy Some of the best recipes in our family did not come from a cookbook. They came from a kid standing at the kitchen counter with three overripe bananas and a big idea.

• Total Time: 65 min
• Yield: 12 slices (1 slice per serving) 1x

Ingredients

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Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated white sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1½ cups mashed ripe banana, about 3 bananas
⅓ cup plain low fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
1 cup halved raspberries, tossed in 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

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Instructions

Instructions
1-Preheat oven to 350°F: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2-In a medium bowl, whisk together the: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
3-In a separate large bowl, beat the: In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Stir in the flour mixture; just until moist. Don’t over-mix. Stir in the chocolate chunks and then gently stir in the raspberries. If you want, you can sprinkle a few additional chocolate chunks and raspberries on the top to make it look pretty.
4-Spoon the batter into the prepared pan: Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely on the wire rack.

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• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 0 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1slice
• Calories: 304kcal
• Sugar: 26g
• Sodium: 199mg
• Fat: 10g
• Saturated Fat: 7g
• Carbohydrates: 49g
• Fiber: 3g
• Protein: 5g
• Cholesterol: 42mg