I will not dare say I know the difference between a bread, a cake, a muffin, or even a pie for that matter. All I do know is sometimes I crave a "baked good". At least I did today.
When I was little, my grandmother would make this yummy banana bread/cake (whatever) in a bundt pan with chocolate chips. It was one of my favorites. I remember the moistness in each bite with that wonderful chocolate banana combination. I miss it.
I based my experiment this morning on my banana muffin recipe. Which may be why it's more like a bread or a muffin then a cake. But I don't care. It was YUMMY! Even the husband who said... "You know I don't like banana bread." ended with a "...but man that is a good one!"
The toddler? Well as you can see he had a hard time waiting for me to take pictures. Which is why I didn't get many good shots. 🙂
Here's what I did... 
- 2 cups whole wheat white flour (240g)
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 overripe large bananas
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- 2 tbsp honey (42g)
- 1 tbsp molasses (20g)
- 1 cup plain non-fat yogurt (227g)
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60g) chocolate chips - preferably mini they spread better
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a bundt pan (I used one like this)
with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. (note you could probably use a loaf or cake pan but I haven't tried it yet and I don't know how to adjust the cooking times... YET! ;~P)
Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together. Sift and set aside.
in a large bowl, mash the bananas. Add the applesauce, egg, egg white, honey, molasses, yogurt and extracts and whisk until smooth. Mix in the chocolate chips.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just incorporated. I used my whisk and it took about 10 "spins".
Pour the batter into the bundt pan. It will be thick, just spread it across the bottom with a spatula.
Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit at least 10 minutes before attempting to remove it from the pan.
Now, I'm estimating 15 servings but I could easily get 17 cut as seen in the picture above. But I'll go with 15 to be "safe". Plus sometimes you just want a bigger piece of cake, I mean bread, I mean... whatever. It's YUMMY!
| Servings | Amt per Serving | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 1/15th of the bread | |||
| Calories | Fat | Fiber | WWPs | |
| 120 | 2g | 2g | old: 2 | new: 3 |
| Sugar | Sat Fat | Carbs | Protein | |
| 9g | 1g | 23g | 4g | |
Roni, my bread came out a little spongy. I think I followed the recipe exactly. Have you ever had that problem? Ideas on how to fix it?? It's still really tasty just a bit squishy.
Honestly, the texture is a bit spong-y, it's hard to get a traditional bread texture using [email protected] whole wheat flour and such. You can always do more of a half and half with white flour but I'd rather the texture and the 100% whole wheat.
It's in the oven baking now!!
Hi Roni, I saw this recipe and I would like to do it for my birthday party next Sunday. I was just wondering if I do not have molasses, is there another ingredient I can use?
Maple syrup would be good! Or just up the honey. Hope you like it!
I made half the recipe with peach&mango non- fat yoghurt,
a few drops of coffee essence and 1 teaspoon of skim milk instead of the almond and vanilla extract,
brown sugar instead of molasses,
maple syrup instead of honey and
raisins instead of chocolate chips.
Plus tons of cinnamon.
But it didn't turn out sweet enough for me. I liked it though. dunked some in kaya 😀 thanks for the recipe! I'm going to try out the banana oatmeal cups with instant oatmeal instead next! 😀
I baked this tonight...WOW! It was so wholesome and flavorful. My seven year old kept begging me for "just one more piece". LOL!! This recipe is definitely a keeper!
oh i love to eat bananas raw. i also love foods and recipes with banana in it. they taste very very good
Ahhh I love the secret ingredient of the molasses! I'm totally up for trying these! I'd make muffins and freeze the suckers!! 🙂
I have made this 3 times now and it is a total hit with ALL of the family...Husband & toddlers approve. Great job, Roni. Keep up the good work.
I made this yesterday. My bundt pan was smaller than yours, so I put the rest into 6 muffin cups. They turned out great. The muffin cups baked about 10-15 minutes quicker than the bundt pan.
LOVE this! Total hit with my crunchy/hippie home school group. The moms loved that there wasn't any sugar used and the kids gobbled it up! I loved that I could eat something sweet at our vday party and not worry about throwing my points off. woo hoo! Thanks Roni!
Roni -
Thank you so much for your firm comments about having "balance." I have been on this journey for so long and I have finally realized that it is indeed a journey! I am NOT going to loose 20 lbs. overnight! It has to be small victories in order to get where I want to be. I have expected in the past that I start a diet and exercise program and have expected to loose all my weight overnight. It is when I remind myself that I still have to live and be healthy at the same time (with indulgences along the way) is when I succeed! You are a real inspiration and I absolutely love your blog and recipes! In fact, I think that your recipes are much healthier than most of the "diet" recipes out there!
Thank you!
Lauren
OMG!!!!! This banana bread recipe is so delicious!!!!! The kids didn't like the chocolate chips in the bread so amd gonna make it again today without the chips!!!!! Really so good1
looks healthy, dense, moist, and delicious!! awesome recipe Roni!! thanks for sharing!!! I'd probably omit the chocolate chips...since I love PLAIN banana bread. In fact it's one of my all TIME fav. foods....hence why this made me SUPER DUPER excited.
Jennifer - Ummm you could try milk. The batter will be thinner. Maybe 1/2 milk 1/2 applesauce but they you are adding more applesauce flavor. Either way it *should* work.
Cathy - My guess is 2 pans but I haven't done it. An the cooking time will probably be about 10 minutes longer.
I may be trying it this weel! I'll post if I do!
I got the notice about this bread on the same day my husband asked what I was planning to do with 2 black bananas. This was a great recipe. I was in a hurry and didn't let it rest the recommended time when it came out of the oven, so some of it stuck to the pan, but I made sure I scraped it out. (Didn't want to waste any!)
Anyway, the addition of chocolate chips was awesome. This little indulgence hits the spot.
The only change I made (not on purpose) was that I used whole wheat pastry flour. I only did this because my whole wheat flour was, well, rancid...I think it still turned out great. This will definitely be made again at my house.
Amy
P.S. My "regular" banana bread calls for a cup of shortening. I think that this is a much better option!
Hi there. Just a follow up to what I posted above. I did make the Banana Bundt Bread this weekend. It turned out very moist and nice.
I used the mini sized chocolate chips and because I didn't have wheat flour or molasses, I used white flour and brown sugar and it didn't seem to hurt anything. I checked the calorie difference and I think I'm still fairly close to the same ballpark.
I did notice when I initially combined the wet and dry ingriedients it was very liquidy. But after a minute, while I was spraying my loaf pans, I came back and it was thick and frothy like pancake batter. I think the baking soda or flour must start to do their thing at that point.
I baked everything in two loaf pans for 35 minutes and it all turned out fine. The bread itself was a little shorter (not as tall) but that's because I think the amount is really best for a bundt pan. I'm thinking of maybe trying my 9x9 pan next time since I don't have one.
Overall the flavor was banan-ish (although I could detect a faint taste of applesauce under it) and I liked the chocolate hints in it. The consistency was extremely moist and no more dense than regular banana bread (maybe because I didn't use wheat flour). I would definitely make this recipe again.
Cathy
hi roni...im a major lurker at both your sites but i just made this recipe into 17 good size muffins and i have to say these are awesome...what i like is that they are sweet enough but not overly sweet as some baked goods can be...and hey...i can lose weight making things like this...thanks so much for creating this fantastic recipe!!
Total eye roll at both Darya's comments. Whatevs.
I can't wait to make this recipe this weekend. It looks perfect for a healthy weekend breakfast.
This sounds so good and perfect timing as I was looking for something like this to make for the weekend!
I don't have a bundt pan, but I do have regular sized loaf pans which would work. How many do you think I should use 2 or 3? Also, would I bake it for a shorter amount of time?
Thanks for posting these recipes, they are me to attempt to cook healthier.
Cathy
Love this recipe- I have bananas that are too ripened and because of WW wasn't too sure what to do- this gives me the chance to stay on target and also enjoy a snack. Love your site..
Yummy! I don't have any plain yogurt on hand. Anything I could substitute? Milk? More applesauce?
It did taste as good as it looks ... I took half the cake into work with me, cut into 16 pieces (8 slices, each cut in half) and it was gobbled up quickly. The Boyfriend, however, wasn't a fan. He took one bite and handed the rest to me, saying it tasted "too healthy."
I told him you said it was husband-approved, and he didn't believe it.
As for that comment, I think everyone else has pretty much covered it. We're all just trying to seek a balance. Food should be healthy ... taste great ... and (hopefully) be something we actually can look forward to eating ... If I had to eat nothing but salad and carrot sticks, I'd be a very grouchy girl!
Well said Roni! Without balance in your life and food choices, even if you lose the weight you'll have a tough time maintaining the loss. That's why diets don't work, only long term lifestyle changes work.
Oh my! I have stirred up quite a discussion.
Sorry Roni, I definitely didn't want to imply that there is anything wrong with dessert or your wonderful recipes. I love dessert!
I had just been following along for awhile and noticed that I saw mainly dessert posts, and I did a double-take on the title.
For me desserts are special occasion foods, but are essential for a happy healthy life. So I think we agree!
Sorry again if my comment was interpreted as criticism.
Happy noshing 🙂
Hi Roni,
I'm a long-time lurker but I have to jump in here! One of my biggest pet peeves is people commenting on what I eat! "Can you eat that on your diet?" "Is that one of your weight watcher recipes?" And on and on! Why can't people see that I just eat food - regular food! It really is all about being healthy, not depriving myself and I've finally moved beyond the diet mentality.
I finally "got it" and at age 55 am in better health than I've ever been. It took getting sick and being put on high blood pressure meds to decide that I had to change my lifestyle if I wanted to continue having a life! After losing 50+ pounds my cholesterol levels dropped from 277 to 191 without medication and my blood pressure is totally under control. Changing my eating habits and starting an exercise program has made life so much more enjoyable now!
I'm about another 15 pounds from goal, but Weight Watchers is a tool that I'm using to help me get the weight off, not just a means to an end. This journey won't end when I reach goal. It will continue as I enjoy mid-life!
Darya,
It's a lifestyle change -- you can't deprive yourself of everything or you'll go crazy. Just because you eat dessert or a piece of "lite" banana bread doesn't mean you can't lose weight.
Jamie
Hey Roni!
I HATE that kind of comment more than anything! People who have that mentality never succeed. In my 7 years working with the company I work for :), I have come into contact with so many people who think like that. They are all about restricting themselves, eating too little and things they don't like to lose their weight. Then when they hit their goal, they go back to their "normal" eating...and guess what? they gain it all back, only to be so disgusted and depressed...then a few years later try it again...
Hi Roni.
Great post. Dieting doesn't mean eating nothing but carrot sticks. Losing weight is easy. Keeping it off is the hard part. I lost 141 pounds in 13 months over 5 years ago.
I recently celebrated half a decade of not only maintaining every ounce of my weight loss but I've also lost another 7 pounds since then. Did I mention that I love cupcakes? I also eat cupcakes. If I want a cupcake I cut back that day's calories or increase my exercise. It's called equilibrium.
Great blog!
I think 150 calories for dessert is awesome! Maybe some people don't read serving sizes?? 😉 (Did I mention I *love* banana bread... so thank you very much!!)
I have found that most of the foods here, including desserts, fill you up so you are satisfied. Just like weight watchers they dont X out desserts. You still need some sweet stuff, and it can be healthy sweets too.
Darya,
I'm not sure what you mean by your comment. My goal here isn't to say... "eat this and lose weight"
My goal is to show people how I try to balance a healthy lifestyle by making food for my family that is lite and healthy the best I can.
This bread is "lite" compared to traditional banana breads that use sticks of butter, white sugar and white flour.
As as for your comment...
"I hope people don’t expect to lose weight eating this stuff."
This site represents all that I eat and make for myself and my family while losing and maintaining my 70lb loss. So yes... this stuff is what I ate while losing weight.
To lose weight successfully you have to learn how to balance. That includes desserts now and then.
Looks delicious! But there sure are a lot of desserts on this website for something called "lite". I hope people don't expect to lose weight eating this stuff.
I have one in the oven right now. Can't wait to see if it tastes as good as it looks!
I made this yesterday morning for breakfast and it was great! I was looking for an all whole wheat, minimal refined sugar banana bread and this was perfect! I used oil because I need the calories, and dark chocolate chips. Next time I might use one more banana, to make it a tad sweeter. Thanks!
The cake looks so tasty! My husband loves banana bread and I love chocolate. Maybe I'll have to try this one!
lol Roni! The same day you posted this I had a banana-chocolate craving myself, and for breakfast I made light and fluffy banana pancakes topped with chocolate chips 😉
Your cake looks great! It's definitely on my do to list, like a bunch more of your recipe ideas!
i made this yesterday, but using butterscotch chips instead. it turned out great and it's already half gone!
Pretty idea! I love the look of all the different Bundt pans. To KC...you might try adding a tsp. of baking powder to this to make it a bit lighter...it also may help it rise a bit. Hope that helps.
That looks delish and so pretty - I love the idea of the bundt pan! I made a similar bread/cake a few weeks ago - dark chocolate, banana bread (in a regular loaf pan) and my husband who hates ultra-healthy stuff loved it! I think it is the universally-loved banana and chocolate combo! I also love that the white whole wheat flour is whole wheat AND husband approved!! Another great idea, Roni!!!
Will definitely make this one, love good banana recipes. I have loads of ripe bananas in my freezer just waiting to be used!
I saw this and immediately got a craving for it! It was pretty good, the chocolate chips were the best part! I personally prefer whole wheat flour so this was great for me, but it may not be "soft" enough for everyone. Overall I enjoyed it, it looks pretty using the bundt pan.
They look good.
I don't have that pan but I might have to make 15 muffins instead. Delicious! x