Paleo Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread

Dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free

It is a weird time right about now with this unnerving health crisis. We are all talking about it, so I am not going to start talking about it all over again. I am sure that I am not the only one whose anxiety is keyed up and has my emotions teetering on the edge. 

When I feel like this, there is one thing that I know will bring me back down to earth (and my heart rate back down too): baking. Baking is my form of meditation. I know that with the right mix of ingredients, I will get a predictable outcome. We all need something right now that we can control and predict. Not to mention, it is a delicious distraction. 

So, I give you the most decadent, luscious banana bread I have ever made. It is like Nutella and banana bread all in one, but without the dairy, gluten, grains or refined sugars. I always have a well stocked pantry, so I will walk through the ingredients that I used. If you do not have these exact ingredients, do not worry about it.

Hazelnut Meal (or Flour) 

While I usually have almond flour in my refrigerator, occasionally I will add some other nut flours to the mix. Since I wanted this bread to taste like Nutella, I used hazelnut meal. This gives the bread that unmistakable hazelnut flavor without using a premed chocolate hazelnut spread or hazelnut butter. 

I bought my Hazelnut meal from Thrive Market (not sponsored), but you can also get it online on Amazon. Do you need to use it? Yes and no. If you use almond flour, you will not get the hazelnut flavor, but that’s ok. If you have whole hazelnuts, just chop those up and add it to the mix and the hazelnuts will support the almond flour. 

Silan aka Date Syrup 

I love date syrup. It is basically a caramel sauce made out of dates. For this bread, it gives moisture to each bite while also giving a deep flavor. Since this syrup is intensely sweet, you do not need a lot of it. I use Soom Foods’ Silan (again, not sponsored), but there are other brands of date syrup that are equally delicious. 

Don’t have date syrup? Don’t worry. Use maple syrup or agave.  

Espresso Powder 

If you have read any of my chocolate recipes, you will know that I love instant espresso powder. No, I am not using it because I want coffee flavor. Espresso powder helps to boost the chocolate flavor, especially when it come to dark chocolate. If you do not have instant espresso powder, use finely ground coffee. Or in place of nut milk, use room temperature brewed coffee. 

Dark Chocolate 

Rule of thumb: the better the chocolate you use in baking, the better the final product will taste. I always use the same chocolate that I snack on. For this recipe I used a dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids, no weird stuff added. 

But what Paleo chocolate is good? There are two that I use most frequently: Santa Barbara Chocolate and Taza Chocolate. Both are sweetened with coconut sugar, do not have any added weird things like lecithin.  

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RECIPE

270g (about 3 medium sized) uber ripe bananas (like black and spotty) 

51g (1/3 cup) paleo dark chocolate 

55g (1/3 cup) extra virgin olive oil 

28g (about 2 tbsp) Silan aka date syrup 

80g (1/2 cup) coconut sugar (Madhava is my preferred) 

2 large eggs

2 tbsp nut or oat milk 

123g (1 cup) hazelnut meal/flour 

35g (about 1/3 cup) dutch process cocoa powder

55g (1/2 cup) tapioca flour 

1 tsp instant espresso powder (optional)

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp salt 

67g (about 1 cup) paleo chocolate chunks/chips 

60g (about 1 cup) chopped hazelnuts. 

Preheat your oven to 350F and liberally grease a standard loaf pan (I use a Pullman loaf pan, but use what you have) with coconut oil. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the hazelnut flour, cocoa powder, tapioca flour, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. If you cocoa powder is super lumpy and clumpy, sift it before adding to the dry mixture. Set aside. 

Place the 51g (1/3 cup) dark chocolate in a small heatproof bowl with the olive oil. Melt in the microwave in 15 second spurts until all the chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool a bit. 

In a large bowl, chunk the bananas. Use a whisk or fork to mash the bananas. It does not need to be a smooth mash; we all like chunks of bananas. Add the melted chocolate to the bananas along with the date syrup and coconut sugar; mix together until combined. Add the eggs and the nut milk and whisk to combine. 

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk together. I like to use a whisk for this step just in case there are any other clumps of flour in the dry mix. Add the chopped hazelnuts and additional dark chocolate (hold some back to sprinkle on the top) and stir in with a spatula or wooden spoon. 

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle in an artistic fashion (whatever that means to you) the top with hazelnuts and chocolate chunks. 

Bake for 55-65 minutes until the edges pull away from the side of the pan. Let cool for at least an hour before removing from the pan. Slice and enjoy just as it is. This bread is decadent and delicious that you will have a hard time eating just one slice. 

If you do not eat it all on the first day, it will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 days. You can also slice it, freeze the slices overnight and then put the slices into a freezer bag and you will have treats for the future.