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Double chocolate banana cake

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Double chocolate banana cake is made healthier with no oil or butter but you would never know it!

double chocolate banana cake

I am simply blown away it’s January.

However, I’ll take it!  It’s my birthday month and my husband and I have a concert to attend as a happy birthday to me deal.  I booked the tickets, the flights, reserved the hotel and put a big invisible bow on the whole thing.  Ever since I was young singing along to Bryan Adams on the back of my dad’s motorcycle I knew I had to see him one day.  I’m just a wee bit excited!

Since we’re all supposed to be eating a little better after the binge fest that was December.  I thought I would make Friday cake night a little healthier with this double chocolate banana cake.  I’m also hoping something will fit for this trip.  Please let jean leggings never go out of style.

The cake was supposed to be a loaf but when I went to pour the batter into my loaf pan I vaguely remembered dropping it and chipping the handle.  Should I be concerned with my balancing skills?  Just this week I made a complete mess of my kitchen when I destroyed a dinner plate.

Now that Christmas shopping madness is over I’ll brave Walmart and replace the pan.  Although I’ll tell you, I like baking in an 8 inch much more.  The bake time for this banana cake was less than 30 minutes!  Normally my other banana bread takes almost an hour.

You’re going to love this not only for the quick bake time but the cake is completely butter and oil free!  It’s so moist you’d think I threw a whole cup of butter in there.  But it’s just the banana and applesauce that creates the deliciously moist texture.

If you need something chocolate without feeling the guilt of December, give this one a try.

double chocolate banana cake

4.8 from 28 reviews
Healthy-ish double chocolate banana cake
 
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Double chocolate banana cake is made healthier with no oil or butter.
Author:
Ingredients
  • 3 medium ripe bananas
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup applesauce
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten.
  • 1 cup flour
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  • mini chocolate chips for topping - optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat an 8 inch square pan with cooking spray.
  2. Combine the mashed bananas and sugar into a large mixing bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
  3. Add the applesauce, vanilla and egg. Stir to combine.
  4. Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add the chocolate chips and pour into the prepared baking pan.
  5. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips over the top and bake for 25-30 minutes. Mine took 28.

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Comments

    • Angie says

      Thanks Nikki – I was just on your site but can’t seem to comment. I love your top 5 of 2014 and your engagement photo’s are beautiful! Congrats 🙂

      • Dessy says

        can we substitute apple sauce with other ingredient? What to use if we don’t have apple sauce?

        • Amy says

          I didn’t have enough applesauce and used a stick of butter. It’s very likely ght and rich. Yum!

          • Kris Camden says

            Hi Gill.

            We have apple sauce in England; we tend to have it with a Sunday roast with pork. You can get it in any supermarket. You’ll typically find it in jars near the horse radish and tartare etc.

            Hope this helps, anyway I’m off to buy the ingredients for this cake for my fiancee’s birthday. Take care 🙂 x

      • jane asmus says

        I am trying to find the caloric content of the double chocolate banana cake…can you help me? thanks so much.

    • Laura says

      I made this, it was yummy, even with white whole wheat flour and without chocolate chips!
      I wonder how it would be in the form of muffins – I am making breakfast products for some young
      ladies the morning after their bachelorette party

      • Angie says

        There was a comment above from Keesha that says she made 12 cupcakes and they were 100 calories each. I would just watch the cooking time, probably a bit less. 🙂

    • dianna says

      This was delicious!!! I was looking for a “quick easy fairly healthy use up my bananas snack” for my kids, and this fit the bill. I was low on choc chips so added in caramel bits to make the full cup. Knocked some health points off with that addition im sure but goodness it was a yummy idea. Thanks for the recipe, this ones a keeper!

  5. Candice says

    Don’t you just HATE breaking dishes?! I know I do!! It is the WORST! This cake looks so delicious Angie! I will definitely have to make this for my Fiancee who loves anything with chocolate 🙂 Good luck finding another loaf pan! xx

  7. heidi says

    What a great cake! Everyone couldn’t believe that it didn’t have butter or oil. So delicious!

  9. Joanne says

    Have you calicated the calories in this yummy chocolate banana cake? I want something sweet but not so fattening since I am trying to watch my weight!! I love chocolate! Thanks for this recipe.

  10. vietscotdot says

    Hi. Just made an 8×8 and a loaf. Gonna see if it freezes well. Family will not stay away from the kitchen because it smells so good! Thanks for the recipe!

  11. Lana says

    It’s actually 2,766 calories, 70.1 grams of fat, and 403 grams of sugar for the whole pan. If you cut them into 9 it’s 307 calories 7.7 grams of fat, and 44.7 g of sugar per serving and if you cut them into 12 it’s 230.5 calories , 5.8 grams of fat, and 33.5 g of sugar per serving. I mean at the end of the day unless your going to eat the whole pan it’s not the worst but the sugar content is pretty high and we all know sugar turns into fat. So I would just say eat some fruit with a low cal vanilla yogurt and save those calories for a cheat dessert. It’s ultimately all the same. You can even jazz up the yogurt by adding some pb2 or if you love chocolate some cocoa powder and agave and make it a dip! Just my opinion . I willl save this recipe for a cheat dessert on the weekend. It does look yummy. Thank you for sharing!

    • Marilyn MacDonald says

      Thanks for the recipe numbers. Will definitely make this recipe. Looks yummy. However to cut the sugar content, I will be substituting ” Just Like Sugar” for all the additional sweetness. It is sweet fiber! Give it a try.

  12. Carly says

    This recipe is perfect! I had 3 bananas laying around and my go-to banana bread recipe asks for 4. This satisfies my sweet tooth and doesn’t make me feel guilty. I made in mini loaf pans which don’t take long and they are easy to share. I’ll make this recipe a million more times. Thanks!

  13. Debby says

    This cake was amazing, it was so rich too! This is a great low calorie dessert with LOTS of chocolate and it baked perfectly to your directions. Thank you for sharing.

  14. Rachel Olimpio says

    Hello, I’m so excited to try this recipe!! I just had one question, is the 1 tsp of vanilla, vanilla extract?

  15. Mrs Kelly says

    What is the measurement for the bananas? They vary greatly in sizes, so “3 medium” could mean something different, depending in the ones I have at any given time. Thanks!

    • Angie says

      I just measured my bananas. That was a first 🙂 They average 7-8 inches. I’ve had a few friends and coworkers make this with varying sizes. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe.

  16. Sargam Agrawal says

    The cake looks awesome. Though I am trying to keep a watch on my weight but m going to try it for sure. Have some queries:
    1. How to prepare the applesauce? (Here in India, not familiar with it)
    2. Can I substitute white sugar in place of brown sugar?
    3. Is the sugar powdered or crystalline?

    Thanks so much!!

    • Angie says

      Applesauce is a prepared food we buy but you should be able to find an easy recipe you can make yourself at home. It’s just cooked and blended apples. Yes, white sugar will be fine and it’s crystalline. 🙂

    • Peta says

      I am in India also, and I made apple sauce just by cooking an apple for a few minutes in the microwave and mashing it. Also, I bring my brown sugar in from overseas (Singapore or Australia), but normal sugar is ok.

  17. GregC says

    Replacing my old Banana Bread recipe with this one. My 6 year old Grandson, who won’t eat Bananas, let alone the bread, has eaten 2 slices. His Mom couldn’t believe it. GREAT texture. GREAT flavor. Thanks for sharing.

  18. Fernanda Hansen says

    Well, first I have to say that I always try healthy recipes but not many my kids like! This cake was amazing! So easy, my 4 year old did almost by herself

  19. Terri says

    According to Fitness Pal, this recipe made in an 8 in pan and 9 servings comes out to 183 calories a piece. Not bad at all!
    3.00 serving, Bananas – Raw
    0.75 cup(s), Sugars – Brown
    0.50 cup(s), Applesauce – Original
    1.00 tsp(s), Vanilla extract
    1.00 egg, Large Egg (Corrected)
    1.00 cup(s), Wheat flour – White, all-purpose, enriched, bleached
    0.50 cup(s), Cocoa – Dry powder, unsweetened
    1.00 tsp(s), Baking soda
    0.25 tsp(s), Spices – Salt, table
    Nutrition Facts
    Servings 9.0
    Amount Per Serving
    calories 183
    % Daily Value *
    Total Fat 1 g 2 %
    Saturated Fat 1 g 3 %
    Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
    Trans Fat 0 g
    Cholesterol 21 mg 7 %
    Sodium 222 mg 9 %
    Potassium 314 mg 9 %
    Total Carbohydrate 42 g 14 %
    Dietary Fiber 3 g 12 %
    Sugars 24 g
    Protein 3 g 7 %
    Vitamin A 1 %
    Vitamin C 7 %
    Calcium 3 %
    Iron 10 %
    * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

  20. Derek says

    This does produce quite possibly the best banana cake ever! However, since I live in a high altitude area (3500 ft) and I used a 3″ deep 8″ round pan, it took more than an hour and a half at 275 degrees to bake. I had enough batter leftover for about 9 cupcakes, which took 30 minutes to bake. I added 2 tbsp. of whipping cream to the frosting mixture. Put them together and this was divine!! Thanks so much for posting – this was an easy recipe and the results were incredible!

    • Angie says

      It’s a little heavier than a normal chocolate cake since there is bananas but not too much.

  26. monya says

    I bake regularly and this recipe was awful! The cake was so dense it almost like eating dough! And I did exactly as recipe instructed

    • Angie says

      Yikes! I’ve had great reviews and results in my own kitchen so I’m sorry to hear that.

    • Angie says

      It could but you’d probably have to double the recipe since this was enough for an 8 inch pan.

  28. jodi says

    hello, this looks delicious. i have always used a banana in peanut butter cookies and gives it a nice texture. what could be a good substitute for the egg. removing dairy is a new part of life! thanks

  29. Lauren Bradley says

    The middle does not seem to want to get done. Is it supossed to have a gooey consistency?

    • Angie says

      Definitely not, it’s a cake texture. Sounds like your batter might be too wet to start with.

    • Angie says

      If they’re pretty large that should be fine. The bananas I used were in the 6-7 inch size. Next time I better measure them out in a measuring cup. Sorry 🙁

  31. Shannon Hitch says

    Greetings from Melbourne Australia thank you for this wonderful recipe i tried it for the first time this evening and it was an instant hit with both children and adults alike.

    • Angie says

      So nice to hear Shannon! It’s such a good feeling when the kids approve. They can be tough critics 🙂

  32. Ece says

    I have made this cake! And well, it is a masterpiece! I admit I am not a chocoholic, but I can’t keep myself eating the second slice! 🙂
    Thanks for the recipe! Love,
    Ece

  34. Nikki says

    Do you think you could make it without the egg? Usually in recipes, to cut calories, you substitute the egg for banana or applesauce, and since it has both…? And maybe if it’s a little too dry, add a little bit of water or milk…?

    • Angie says

      I haven’t tried it myself but I’d be curious to know how it turns out if you end up giving it a go!

    • Alak says

      Instead of an egg, replace with 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water. There are also other egg substitutes like cornstarch, egg replacer, arrowroot powder, etc.

  35. Christina says

    Sorry, this may be a dumb question lol. I really don’t bake but I want to try this! Do you melt the chocolate chips or pour them in as is?

    • Angie says

      The 1 cup of chocolate chips gets stirred in, no need to melt them. Easier that way 🙂

  36. Linh says

    Made this last week and it was super yummy! Just the perfect balance of banana and chocolate, and very moist. I made it in a bread pan so cooked it for about 50 minutes; a bit longer but worth the wait. Thanks for sharing!

  37. Paula says

    I just made this cake and looked good when it came out of the oven, after about an hour it had sunk slightly in the middle. Its also very gooey. Maybe too much banana?? I used 3 and followed the recipe as directed.

    • Angie says

      Definitely doesn’t sound right. It should be just like a cake, not like goo 🙁

  38. Meggie says

    I made this 2 times already because everyone is just crazy about it!
    Thank you for this recipe!

  40. B Rosa says

    Double Chocolate Banana Cake – Doubled the recipe for 9×11 pan. Family devoured it.

  41. Lesley McPherson says

    hello…I so want to make this today but I don’t have any applesauce in the house 🙁 what can I us instead of the applesauce??
    Thank you!

    • Angie says

      B Rosa mentioned in a comment that they doubled it and baked the cake in a 9×13 pan.

  43. jodie says

    Thanks for this lovely recipe. I also found it flexible. Still worked out after halving the amount of choc chips and subbing the full amount of brown sugar for just 1 tbs plus about 1/4 cup rice malt syrup. Also used Wholemeal flour. The whole family loved it, thank you!

    • Angie says

      The recipe isn’t too different from my normal banana bread so a loaf pan should be fine. Bake time would be about 55-60 minutes.

  45. Cherie says

    LOVE this recipe, thanks for sharing. I added 1/2 c unsweetened coconut flakes and added 1/3cup greek yogurt…YUM

    • Angie says

      That sounds delicious! I never thought to use coconut. Now I must make another 🙂

  46. Michele says

    I made this today and it worked out great. I only had about 1/3 cup brown sugar, so I made up the difference with granulated. Also used plain yogurt in place of the applesauce, used both baking powder and baking soda and used whole wheat flour. I make substitutions like this often, depending on what I have on hand. This is a great base recipe. Thanks!

  47. Hannah Phillips says

    I didn’t have applesauce so I used plain Greek yogurt.
    I also wanted to control the portion sizes and I wanted something that would bake quick so I used a mini muffin pan. I cooked them for 10 mins and they were wonderful. I used Herseys bar instead of chips and I topped mini with strawberrys.

  49. Rawnie Hansen says

    Great recipe! I used 1 tbsp Stevia instead of the sugar, coconut flour instead of regular flour and used baking powder instead of baking soda. It turned out great. Next time, I’ll add more cocoa powder 🙂

  50. Teresa Elizondo says

    hi, i made today and is super extea delicious, in Mexico we said ” que barbaro” !!!!
    Make in mini muffin presentation make 40 thank’s fir this recipie… saludos desde Mexico

    • Angie says

      Hi Teresa, Thanks for the kind words! I’ll remember “que barbaro” for my next vacation to Mexico!!

  51. Asher says

    Hi there, can’t wait to make this recipe! Do you have a recipe for apple sauce? Or are we just talking pureed stewed apple? Cheers!

  53. Kadie Fricke says

    I was so excited to make this! Yum. Just came out of the oven – delicious!
    I want to note that at 350 degrees F, my cake took 41 minutes to bake. This may have been why some cakes came out gooey, just needed to bake a little longer.

    Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. Its a keeper!

    • Angie says

      Good tip! Ovens are so different especially between gas and electric. Always good to keep a toothpick nearby! 🙂

  54. Katya says

    I made this with a couple adjustments!

    I used 100 mL of apple sauce (the size of the unsweetened apple sauce cups I had) and 1/8 cup of honey to sweeten. Since I used a liquid (honey) to sweeten, a full half cup of apple sauce would have ended up being too much. My three bananas were very ripe. I left out the sugar and chocolate chips entirely.

    I baked these as muffins and it made 12 smallish muffins that baked in sixteen minutes at 350F in my electric oven at sea level.

    The muffins are fairly dense — a bit brownie-like almost in texture — and stick to the cupcake liner quite a bit. (Anyone familiar with low-fat baking knows to expect this.) I like them very much. They are very nice for breakfast, but you could also lightly ice them or have them with some french vanilla yogourt and you’d have a great after-dinner treat!

  56. Katie says

    Gorgeous cake and so easy to make! Mine has come out perfect first time I’ve tried it. Will be a regular in our house. Thank you so much!!

  57. Ritu gupta says

    Hi,
    The cake looks delicious. Could i substitue the applesauce with oil or butter? I know it wont be as healthy but i am making for a friend who doesnt care about the calories.
    Thanks,
    Ritu

    • Angie says

      Yes, Vanilla extract. Apple sauce is cooked down apples and water. I buy it in jars at the grocery store 🙂

  60. Patty says

    This is a fantastic recipe, cake comes out moist, my kids loved it!
    I used rice flour and as I didn’t have applesauce, I used an extra banana which worked really well.
    Many thanks for sharing such a great cake!

    • Angie says

      Oh good to know about the applesauce/extra banana. That will save me a trip next time we’re out! I’m so happy to hear that the kids loved it. They are the toughest critics sometimes! 🙂

  62. Gail says

    thanks for the recipie, can’t wait to try it! On here in a mad hunt for chocolate birthday cake Recipies for hubby’s birthday tomorrow with ingredients I have on hand :(. Not an easy feat!

    Had to comment about what sounded like a trip to go see Bryan Adams in concert for your birthday! Happy belated Birthday, GREAT gift. LOL. I too am a long time fan. Had the pleasure of seeing him about 12 x so far and try to go when ever he makes his way to Canada (even got to meet him twice). He is AMAZING live and I hope you had a great time. Curious where you went to see him if you don’t mind my asking?

    • Angie says

      We saw him in Vancouver. What an amazing concert! It was just a huge crowd sing along all night. I’m keeping my eye out for future Canadian dates 🙂

  63. Rebekah says

    For weight watcher users, this cake comes out to 11 sp for 1/9th of it or 8 sp for 1/12th of it. It’s a bit spendy, but if someone else in the house ate some and didn’t leave leftovers or gave away, I might consider it. HA! 😀

    • Angie says

      No that doesn’t sound right. It should just turn out like a regular cake. Glad it turned out ok otherwise!

  65. Jen says

    I never comment on recipes, but as someone who CAN’T eat butter or oil because of a health issues, I have to say this cake is LEGIT. I had to limit the chocolate chips down to next to none, but otherwise made it as is. Oh, and I made cupcakes because I had to toss my 8×8 recently and baked them for 17 1/2 mins to perfection. THANK YOU!!

  66. Rosie says

    LOVE this cake! Mine takes 50mins for some reason but comes out lovely so dont panic if its not cooking just persevere. I’ve started making it with xylitol so sugar and butter free (!) and it comes out amazingly. The strong chocolate, banana and vanilla flavours mean you cant taste any cooling effect from the xylitol..
    Thank you Angie for this great recipe 🙂

  67. Sandra Ashcroft says

    This cake sounds too good to be true! I live in Spain, do I use self-raising or plain flour for this recipe?

  68. Sidra Sheikh says

    Hi, I love the sound of this recipe, will definitely give it a try ! I was wondering if I can use apple sauce in cakes like orange cake, will it work like it does in this chocolate cake?

    • Angie says

      You bet. My Mom and I use apple sauce in all sorts of baking. Muffins, cakes, it’s a great way to cut oil!

  69. Rosanna says

    Did it take longer than 30 minutes for anyone else? My cake was still gooey in the middle at 30 minutes, and I ended up cooking it over 40 min.

  70. Monica says

    This turned out delicious. Didn’t have applesauce so used about 4 1/2 bananas for the recipe. Even my daughter who hates anything I make using overripe bananas gobbled this ???? . First time I’m making a cake without butter or oil. This was really fudgey/ moist. Love it!! Thanks for the wonderful recipe.

  72. Jessica says

    I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for posting this recipe! My daughter is allergic to eggs and peanuts so I make most of our snacks, and this is her favorite treat (I substitute 1/4 cup Greek yogurt for the egg). I think we discovered your page about a year ago and I’ve been making this cake about once a month since. I even made it for her birthday last year and served it with salted caramel sauce for added decadence. This is the most satisfying healthy-ish treat I’ve yet to find ☺

    • Angie says

      That is so great to hear!! I had no idea you could substitute greek yogurt for eggs! I’m not really supposed to eat too many so I will give that a try. Tell your daughter I said hello and hope she’s enjoying the summer 🙂

  73. Diane says

    My daughter can not have gluten. I used this recipe and substituted oat flour for wheat flour. Very good and moist.

  74. Yuri says

    I don’t want to use any eggs on the receipt will it make a difference. If it does what can I use instead of eggs.?

    • Angie says

      I haven’t attempted a non egg version. I’ve heard you can use ground flax as a replacement but haven’t looked into it much or tried it. I’m sure there’s info out there for you though. Good luck! 🙂

  75. Lyss says

    I really enjoyed this recipe! I added a bit more applesauce than it called for (probably was around 3/4 cup instead of the 1/4…I didn’t measure what I added), because the texture of mine was kind of thick (I am thinking this was due to the store not having the super ripe bananas I normally would use)! Anyone else find that brown bananas are the best for baking?

    We had a chocolate baking competition at work, and everyone raved about this recipe! Love it!

    • Angie says

      I agree, brown spotted bananas are the best! I like to peel and freeze them for smoothies too 🙂 I’m so happy everyone loved the cake you brought!

  76. Natasha says

    I found this recipe yesterday and made it very quickly. Followed the instructions, as directed! I feel it’s only fair, when making an online recipe, to do it justice by making it as the chef intended and then I change what doesn’t work. In this case, this recipe was deliciously moist and extremely decadent and amazingly delicious! Loved the applesauce …yum! Definitely keeping this recipe for future use! … Thank you! 🙂

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