Raspberry Dark Chocolate Banana Bread: The Perfect Sweet and Tart Loaf

Raspberry Dark Chocolate Banana Bread, Recipe Boy

This raspberry dark chocolate banana bread started with a teenager in my kitchen. My son Brooks, who blogs as RecipeBoy, created this loaf around 2012, back when he was still learning his way around an electric mixer and testing every flavor combination he could think of. Chocolate and raspberries with ripe bananas turned out to be the combination that stuck.

The recipe became popular enough to be published in a children’s cookbook called Future Chefs. When Brooks was a featured author at a Barnes and Noble event, he brought muffin versions of this same bread for everyone who came out to say hello. Those muffins disappeared fast, and I have been baking the loaf version ever since.

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The batter comes together quickly, one bowl for the dry ingredients and one for the wet, and the loaf bakes in under an hour. It is the kind of recipe I reach for when I want something that feels special without a lot of fuss.

Ingredients Needed:

Here is the short list of what goes into the batter. Most of it is already in a home baker’s pantry.

• All purpose flour
• Baking soda and salt
• Granulated white sugar
• Unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• Eggs
• Mashed ripe banana
• Plain low fat yogurt
• Vanilla extract
• Dark chocolate chunks or chips
• Fresh raspberries

You will also want a 9×5 inch loaf pan and cooking spray. The raspberries get a light toss in flour before they go into the batter, which helps them stay suspended instead of sinking to the bottom.

If you are a dark chocolate fan, use chunks rather than chips, since they melt into bigger, softer pockets in the finished loaf.

How to make Raspberry Dark Chocolate Banana Bread:

Set the oven to 350°F and spray your 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. While the oven heats, get the dry ingredients ready.

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar and the room temperature butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until the two are well blended, about 1 minute. The mixture should look lighter and a little fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then add the mashed banana, the yogurt and the vanilla, and beat until everything is blended. Mash the bananas well before they go in. A few lumps are fine, but big chunks will leave wet pockets in the loaf.

Now stir in the flour mixture, and here is the part that matters most. Stir just until the batter is moist and stop. Do not overmix. Overmixing is what turns a tender loaf into a tough one.

Stir in the chocolate chunks, then gently stir in the raspberries so they stay mostly whole. If you want a pretty top, sprinkle a few extra chocolate chunks and raspberries over the batter before it goes in the oven.

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. Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan and let it cool completely on the rack.

A quick word on doneness. The pick test is a better guide than the clock, because every oven runs a little differently. If the wooden pick still has wet batter on it at 50 minutes, give the loaf another 5 minutes and check again.

Get the raspberries ready before you start mixing. Halve them, toss them in that tablespoon of flour, and set them aside. The light coating keeps them from bleeding too much color into the batter and helps them hold their place in the loaf.

The loaf is ready when the top is deep golden brown and firm to a light touch. If the center still looks jiggly through the oven door, it needs a little more time.

What I Love About This Recipe:

There is a family story behind this loaf, and that is a big part of why I love it. Brooks came up with it as a young teen, long before he knew it would end up in a cookbook.

Watching him figure out that chocolate and raspberries belong together in a banana bread was one of those kitchen moments I will not forget.

I also love how versatile it is. This is a great afternoon sweet snack, and it does double duty as a dessert. It is sweet enough that I would not recommend it for breakfast, even though you certainly can eat it then.

If you are looking for a morning loaf, one of the lighter banana breads on this site is a better fit.

Texture wise, the loaf should stay moist in the middle once it has cooled, with melted chocolate and soft raspberry bits in every few bites. That mix of sweet and tart is what keeps people coming back for a second slice.

We usually slice it in the afternoon with coffee or a glass of cold milk. It works as a dessert after a simple dinner too, especially if you warm a slice for a few seconds so the chocolate softens again.

Slice it once it has cooled completely. A warm loaf tastes great, but it crumbles under the knife.

Favorite Banana Bread Recipes:

If this loaf becomes a regular in your house, you may want a few more banana bread recipes in your back pocket. These are the ones I bake most often.

• Gluten Free Banana Bread, the one I make when someone at the table cannot have wheat
• Brownie Banana Bread, for the days when chocolate is the whole point
• Kona Inn Banana Bread, a classic loaf I come back to again and again
• Sour Cream Banana Bread, rich and dependable
• Snickerdoodle Banana Bread, when I want cinnamon sugar on top

Each one is a little different from this raspberry dark chocolate version, so there is always a loaf for whatever mood you are in. They are all banana breads, so the basic idea is familiar. The fun part is seeing how far one fruit can go.

Ingredients

Here are the exact amounts for one 9×5 inch loaf.

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) 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

Room temperature butter and eggs blend more smoothly into the batter, so pull them out of the fridge about 30 minutes ahead if you can. The bananas should be ripe, with plenty of brown speckles on the peel.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
3. 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, the yogurt and the vanilla, and beat until blended. Stir in the flour mixture just until moist. Do not overmix. Stir in the chocolate chunks, then gently stir in the raspberries. If you want, sprinkle a few extra chocolate chunks and raspberries on top to make it look pretty.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove from the pan and cool completely on the wire rack.

Once the loaf is fully cool, slice it into 12 pieces. A serrated knife makes cleaner slices through the chocolate chunks.

Recipe details

Prep takes 15 minutes, and the loaf bakes for about 50 minutes, with a range of 50 to 60 minutes depending on your oven.

Plan on 1 hour 5 minutes total from the moment you start measuring flour to the moment you pull the loaf out of the oven. One slice is one serving, and the loaf gives you 12 slices in total.

This is an American style quick bread, which means no yeast and no rising time. Everything happens in the mixing bowl and the oven, so it is a friendly recipe for a new baker who wants a loaf that looks like it came from a bakery.

Nutrition values come from the recipe card and are based on one slice of the loaf. I wrap leftover slices tightly and keep them on the counter, since they never last long in our house anyway.

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Raspberry Dark Chocolate Banana Bread

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Raspberry Dark Chocolate Banana Bread, Recipe Boy This raspberry dark chocolate banana bread started with a teenager in my kitchen. My son Brooks, who blogs as RecipeBoy, created this loaf around 2012, back when he was still learning his way around an electric mixer and testing every flavor combination he could think of.

• Total Time: 65 min
• Yield: 12 1x

Ingredients

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2 cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated white sugar
4 tablespoons (½ stick) 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

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.

Last Step:

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• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 50 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

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