I have always loved cooking more than baking. Cooking allows flexibility. You can adjust the seasoning as you go, taste as you cook, and trust your instincts along the way. Baking, on the other hand, is all about chemistry and precision. Eye power simply does not work. I have had my fair share of baking failures from trying to do it “my way.” Too dry, too hard, or simply falling apart.
Then one day, I found myself with two very ripe bananas, some leftover apples, and a bit of flour. Nothing planned, no occasion to bake for. Maybe I was a little bored, but I decided to take up the challenge anyway. To see if I could make something based purely on eye power, experience, and gut feel. No recipe. No fuss. Just slow, instinctive baking.
For a novice baker like myself, this felt like the perfect low-stakes opportunity to throw precision out the window. The quantities were small, there was nothing to lose, and the upside was too tempting to pass up. So I estimated the flour based on the weight of the bananas and apple I had on hand, and went with it.
And it worked. Better than I expected, honestly.
I have always wanted to cut down on sugar in my bakes, but doing so usually left the texture dry and hard. This time, I hoped to lean on the natural sweetness and moisture of the fruit instead. And it delivered exactly that.
This recipe is also very forgiving. You do not need to follow it precisely. If your banana happens to weigh more than what is listed, simply adjust the apple and Greek yoghurt accordingly, and vice versa. On my second attempt, made for filming, I had 170g of banana instead of 140g, so I used a little less yoghurt to balance it out. The final loaf turned out almost exactly the same.
While this is called a banana bread, it actually has more of a cake-like texture. Since there is no yeast in the recipe, it lacks the chewiness of a typical bread. But compared to a traditional banana cake, which usually has a higher proportion of sugar and butter, this recipe uses a flour-to-fat ratio of 2:1 with zero added refined sugar. The sweetness and moisture come entirely from the fruit and Greek yoghurt. And instead of oil, which most recipes call for, I browned the butter for extra depth, a nutty aroma, and a richer finish.
I am not trained in food science, nor am I a trained baker. Everything shared here is simply based on what I believed would work. Consider this a gentle reminder that cooking and baking do not always need to be complicated. Practice makes perfect. Sometimes the best results come from trusting your experience, leaning on your gut feel, and genuinely enjoying the process. I think that applies just as much to life as it does to the kitchen.
Banana Apple Chocolate Bread
Ingredients
- 145 g plain flour
- 10 g cocoa powder Valrhona recommended
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 140 g banana peel first, then weigh
- 160 g apple, diced peeled and cored first, then weigh
- 80 g salted butter
- 65 g Greek yoghurt see notes
- 1 egg approximately 63g each, room temperature
- ¼ tsp cinnamon powder optional
- ½ tsp vanilla extract or vanilla essence
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C for 15–20 minutes using top and bottom heat mode. For accuracy, use an oven thermometer.
- Brown the butter over low heat until dark golden brown, with milk solids forming at the bottom of the pan. Set aside to cool.
- Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Sift together and set aside.
- Crumple a sheet of parchment paper and use it to line the baking tin.
- In a mixing bowl, mash the banana. Add the Greek yoghurt, egg, cinnamon, vanilla extract or essence, and browned butter. Mix until well combined.
- Fold in the flour mixture until just combined, i.e. no dry flour or lumps remaining. Do not overmix.
- Fold in the diced apples until evenly distributed.
- Bake at 180°C for approximately 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Cool, slice, and serve.
Notes
- Browned butter: Start this step first, before measuring out the rest of your ingredients. It needs time to cool. Use a light-coloured stainless steel pan so you can see the colour change beneath the bubbles and the milk solids form into brown bits. Use your eyes and nose to judge when it is ready. You are looking for a deep golden brown with brown bits, not black. If this feels like too much effort, melted butter works fine too.
- Greek yoghurt: Use Greek yoghurt rather than Greek-style yoghurt. Greek yoghurt is thicker and strained, while Greek-style yoghurt contains more moisture, which can affect the texture of the loaf. If Greek yoghurt is not available and you only have Greek-style yoghurt, reduce the quantity by about 20-30% to compensate for the additional moisture.
- Banana and apple: Do not worry if your banana or apple is 20 to 30g off the listed weight. This recipe is forgiving and small variations will not affect the overall balance or texture.
- Cinnamon: Optional. Skip it entirely if it is not your thing.
- Sequence: While it is generally recommended to mix all the wet ingredients before adding the dry ones, do not panic if things go slightly out of order. In my most recent bake, I actually forgot to add the browned butter and only remembered halfway through mixing in the flour. I added it in then and it still turned out perfectly fine.
- Baking tin: For reference, I used a loaf tin measuring 17cm (L) x 10cm (W) x 7cm (H). Not everyone has the same size at home. If your tin is slightly larger or smaller, simply adjust the baking time accordingly and check for doneness with a skewer.
- This recipe also works as muffins. Simply pour the batter into a lined muffin tin and reduce the baking time to approximately 20 minutes. Check for doneness with a skewer.
