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Dairy-Free Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread

This dairy-free chocolate cherry banana bread is a deliciously rich and moist loaf combining ripe bananas, juicy cherries and chocolate chips. Cocoa powder and muscovado sugar give it a deep chocolate flavour, while almond butter and ground almonds add richness and a lovely texture.
It is an easy way to use up ripe bananas and works equally well with fresh or frozen cherries. If using frozen cherries, simply defrost them well and drain off any excess liquid before adding them to the batter.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 6
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: British
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons ground almonds
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup self-raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ cup rolled oats
  • ½ cup light or dark muscovado sugar
  • ½ cup good-quality or vegan chocolate chips
  • 1 cup sour cherries or sweet cherries pitted and halved, fresh or defrosted
  • A splash of almond milk if needed

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a standard loaf tin with baking paper.
  2. Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add the almond butter, vanilla extract and eggs and whisk until well combined.
  3. Stir in the cocoa powder, ground almonds, self-raising flour, baking powder, rolled oats and muscovado sugar. Mix until just combined.
  4. Fold in the chocolate chips and cherries, taking care not to overmix the batter. If it seems particularly thick, add a small splash of almond milk.
  5. Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf tin and smooth the top.
  6. Bake for 45–55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
  7. Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool before slicing.