Vegan Chocolate Pecan Banana Bread

I must say that I think this is the best low-fat vegan bread I have made to date out of all of the non dairy/non egg breads I have been attempting over the past few months. The bread actually looked like a normal quick bread, it had good height in the pan, and the density was much better than some of my previous attempts. For this recipe, I just followed a basic non vegan recipe that I found on the Joy of Baking website, and then substituted vegan options where they were needed. I am very happy with the results. I will make a warning that the flax seed does impart a very subtle flavor into the bread, so if you are not a fan of flax seed, I would substitute something else for the egg other than that.

All in all, for me, an excellent experiment. The bread is also virtually fat free, the cocoa, pecans and banana impart some natural fat into the bread, but it's a manageable amount. Let me know if you try this bread, or if you have any vegan baking recipes that you love and want to share. It's when recipes come out this good that I wonder why I ever baked with full fat ingredients in the first place.

Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Pecan Banana Bread
1/2 cup (55 grams) toasted walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (I used pecans)
1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
(I used half whole wheat flour)
1/4 cup (30 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (85 grams) white chocolate chips
(I opted to not use any to keep the fat and calories down)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
(Vegan Option: 1 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbs water for each egg)
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
(Vegan Option: 1/2 c unsweetened applesauce)
3 ripe bananas (approximately 1 pound or 454 grams), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.

Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients until just combined and batter is thick and chunky. Fold in the nuts and chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared pan and sprinkle the top of the bread with coarse brown sugar (optional). Bake until bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Rating = So Damn Good