Marbled Chocolate Sesame Banana Bread
Preparation time: 60-80 minutes | Serves: 4-6 people
This moist and more-ish banana bread recipe combines the nutty, savoury notes of tahini with dark chocolate and ripe bananas.
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, 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 and I haven’t looked back since.
Ingredients used in this Chocolate Sesame Banana Bread -
Take my hot tip from above and don’t toss out your overripe bananas! The more blackened the skin - the better. As the fruit ripens, the natural sugars become more concentrated which means you need less sugar in the recipe itself, plus the texture is denser, fluffier and dare I say it - more banana-ey.
The combination of yoghurt, tahini, olive oil and brown sugar makes the crumb incredibly fluffy, plus cinnamon and good quality cocoa powder add a resonating warmth. I would highly recommend serving a slice of this loaf straight out of the oven with a generous drizzle of tahini.
For me, this banana bread recipe goes beyond a trend but remains a comforting, more-ish and downright foolproof bake. Letting overripe bananas go to waste? In my kitchen, that's practically a sin.
Ingredients
50 mls light olive oil
50 gms tahini
50 gms Greek/coconut 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 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.
Other comfort recipes you might enjoy -
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 banana 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.
