This recipe makes four mini loaves that are dark, rich, sweet, and surprisingly good for you. The secret is using a lot of mashed bananas to provide the sweetness and moisture in the bread without the need for an excessive amount of sugar and fat. A small amount of cocoa powder provides dark color to the loaves as well as a hint of chocolate. I use raisin bran in the loaves, which is easier to find than regular bran and also includes the raisins, which add extra sweetness. The batter mixes up in minutes, no fancy equipment needed, and the mini loaves bake in 20-25 minutes. I like to eat slices of the bread for breakfast, but they also make great tea time treats. Enjoy!
Air Fryer Cocoa Banana Bran Breads -- Makes 4 Mini Loaves
1 1/2 cups of mashed banana (about 3 medium bananas)
1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
1/3 cup of canola oil
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 large egg
2/3 cup of buttermilk
1 1/2 cups of raisin bran
3/4 cup of flour
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
Sugar to sprinkle, optional (I use turbinado sometimes)
Spritz four mini loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and set them aside. In a large bowl, stir or whisk together well the banana, dark brown sugar, canola oil, salt, egg, and buttermilk. Stir in the raisin bran well. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon, mixing them into the batter just until everything is combined. Divide the batter among the four prepared mini loaf pans. Sprinkle the top of the batter in each pan with a little sugar, if you'd like. Place two filled loaf pans in your air fryer basket, put the basket in the air fryer and air fry the batter at 320 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a pick inserted in the center of a loaf comes out with no wet batter attached. Set the loaves aside to cool for 10 minutes before removing them from their pans. Repeat the cooking process with the remaining batter.
