Chocolate Tahini Banana Bread
Preparation time: 60-80 minutes | Serves: 4 people
It took lots of trials for me to perfect my basic banana bread recipe, and then I took to experimenting with different combinations. Chocolate, coconut, berries - you name it. This recipe combines the nutty, savoury notes of tahini with chocolate for a moreish, moist banana bread. The combination of yoghurt, olive oil and mashed banana makes the crumb incredibly fluffy, and I would highly recommend eating it straight out of the oven with a generous drizzle of tahini.
What’s so special about banana bread?
I never understood the appeal of banana bread until I baked a loaf myself. Growing up, bananas were just healthy fruits I was encouraged to eat (and honestly didn’t understand the appeal), but everything changed when a visiting aunt stopped us from tossing overripe bananas, promising to transform them into something special. That first taste of her banana bread was a revelation.
While banana bread has been surging in popularity recently, for me it’s not just a trend, but a recipe that provides comfort and a great way to reduce food wastage in my home. Letting overripe bananas go to waste? In my kitchen, that's practically a sin.
Check out the recipe notes for swaps, serving ideas and other recommendations for this recipe.
Ingredients
50 mls light olive oil
50 gms tahini
50 gms Greek/coconut/almond yoghurt
1 egg (or swap for an additional mashed banana)
1 tsp vanilla essence
170 gms flour (wholemeal flour works well too)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp each baking powder and baking soda \
80 gms brown/ coconut sugar
30 gms cocoa powder
3 overripe bananas
Toasted sesame seeds and tahini, to serve
Method
Preheat oven to 170°C and line a loaf tin.
Mix the dry ingredients together (except for the cocoa powder) and whisk gently to get rid of any lumps.
In a separate bowl, whisk the olive oil, tahini and yoghurt together till combined - the mixture will be thick and sticky.
Add the vanilla and egg, then gently fold in the dry ingredients.
Mash the bananas with a fork and fold into the batter.
Divide batter equally; mix cocoa powder into one half.
Create a marble pattern by alternating dollops of the chocolate batter into the plain batter.
Bake for 20 mins, then slide the oven tray out and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for an additional 20 mins until golden.
Drizzle with tahini and serve warm.
Swaps, Serves & Storage
Can I make this recipe vegan?
Yes you can easily adapt this easy banana bread recipe to make it vegan! I’ve included the swaps in the recipe itself - dairy free yoghurt instead of Greek yoghurt and an additional mashed banana to replace the egg. You can also use a flax egg instead.Do I have to use tahini?
While tahini is a big part of this recipe and the sesame flavour pairs beautifully with bananas, you can opt to leave tahini out of the recipe. Sub with an additional 50mls of olive oil.How long can I store this bread?
The banana bread keeps well at room temperature (wrapped tightly in foil or an air tight container) for up to 3 days, and 7 days refrigerated.Can I freeze this cake?
This loaf freezes beautifully! You can also slice it up and wrap the individual slices with cling wrap and freeze.
Tips & Tricks
Ripe bananas - The darker and mushier your bananas are, the better. The sugars in the fruit are highly concentrated at this point and add a natural sweetness to the cake so you don’t need to use much sugar.
Temperatures - As with any baking recipe, all your ingredients must be at room temperature. Understandably you’re pulling the yoghurt straight out of the fridge, so make sure to measure the yoghurt and set it aside while you assemble the dry ingredients. This will give the yoghurt enough time to come to temperature.
The marble effect - While I prefer to dot dollops of batter in the pan for an easy marble effect, here’s a great demonstration of the different techniques if you’re looking for the perfect zebra pattern or swirls.
