Banana chocolate swirl cake, its sound complicated, but trust me it’s not! Banana bread with walnuts is something we’ve all tried, and don’t get me wrong it tastes great, but have you ever tried banana bread with hazelnuts and hazelnut chocolate spread? Well that’s what this banana chocolate swirl cake is, a dense yet fluffy banana cake with finely chopped hazelnut and swirled with a hazelnut chocolate spread and topped with more hazelnuts and a chocolate sauce. Sounds delicious right!!

Unlike marbled banana bread, this banana chocolate swirl cake is a banana bread with dollops of Nutella swirled into it. So when you bite into the cake you get little pockets of chocolatiness!
About This Recipe
- The cake is made with a basic banana bread recipe that’s taken to another level by adding the hazelnut chocolate and chopped hazelnuts into the batter.
- This recipe is an easy one bowl cake recipe, so not much clean up after either! A great beginner-friendly recipe.
- The banana chocolate swirl cake is a bit denser than your regular cakes as it’s baked in a loaf pan, but it’s still moist and soft and simply delicious.
What You Need To Make This Recipe

- Oil : use a neutral oil like vegetable or canola, this will make the cake super moist!
- Bananas: it’s best to use ripe bananas, if you’re bananas aren’t ripe, you can ripen them like this.
- Brown sugar: use light or dark brown sugar.
- Refrigerated ingredients should be at room temperature.
- Hazelnuts: I used roasted hazelnuts.
How To Make This Recipe


To make banana chocolate swirl cake….
Step 1: In a bowl mash the bananas using a fork. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients and mix.
Step 2: Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until combined. Fold in the finely chopped hazelnuts.
Step 3: Pour the batter into a loaf pan and add dollops of Nutella on top. Use a toothpick to swirl it around and add some more chopped hazelnuts on top.


Step 4: Bake for 40 minutes at 175 C or 350 F. Let it cool completely then slice and serve with more chocolate sauce drizzled on top.
Pro Tips
- If your bananas aren’t ripe you can bake them in an oven preheated to 170 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 7 min.
- Don’t have buttermilk? No problem make it at home by adding 1 1/2 tbsp. vinegar for every one cup of milk and let it sit for 5 min. For this recipe just fill up your measuring cup with milk till it’s almost full, add vinegar to fill it all the way and let it sit for 5 minutes before using it.
- Warm the Nutella in a microwave before adding it on the batter, this will make it easy to swirl around in the batter.
- Chop the hazelnuts very finely, you could use a food processor or blender, this ensures that they don;t sink to the bottom of the cake while baking.
- If the cooking time is over and your cake still isn’t baked through, cover it with tin foil and bake for another 5 minutes or as needed. This will prevent the top of the cake from burning.
Storing The Cake
This banana chocolate swirl cake can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 days, then transfer to a refrigerator.

Banana Chocolate Swirl Cake
FAQ’s
How do I ripen bananas fast?
If your bananas aren’t ripe you can bake them in an oven preheated to 170 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 7 min.
Can I use a different chocolate spread?
You could use any hazelnut chocolate spread, or skip it totally is you don’t like chocolate.
What can I substitute for buttermilk?
You could use full fat yogurt or sour cream in place of the buttermilk, or make it at home in 5 minutes using this tip.
Can I use a different type of nut?
Of course! It’s totally up to you, add a different type of nut, like almonds, walnuts, pecans, or just skip it totally.
Recipe Card
Banana Chocolate Swirl Cake

Banana bread with walnuts, that’s something everyone has tried, and don’t get me wrong it tastes great, but have you ever tried banana bread with hazelnuts and hazelnut chocolate spread? Well that’s what this banana chocolate swirl cake is, a dense yet fluffy banana cake with finely chopped hazelnut and swirled with a hazelnut chocolate spread and topped with more hazelnuts and a chocolate sauce. Sounds delicious right!!
Prep Time: 10min Cook Time: 40min Total Time: 50min Calories: 321kcal
Course: Dessert Cuisine: American Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 3 large bananas, ripe ( 4 medium sized)
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup oil
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs, room temp.
- 1 /4 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla essence/ vanillin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup finely chopped hazelnuts
- 3 tbsp. Nutella (and hazelnut chocolate spread)
Instructions
- preheat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) and grease and line your loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl mash the bananas using a fork, add in the melted butter, oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, buttermilk and eggs (add vanilla essence here if using) . Mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanillin. Mix well.
- Add the wet mixture into the dry and mix until combine. Add in the chopped hazelnuts and mix. Don’t overmix the batter.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and add dollops of Nutella on top. Use a skewer or toothpick to swirl it around the batter.
- Bake for 35-40 min. Once done let it cool completely.
- Optional: Add some more Nutella or a chocolate sauce on top before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
All oven are different so the bake time may vary, start checking on the cake at 30 minutes.
Use ripe bananas for the best results.
You could skip the hazelnuts or chocolate completely for a delicious banana bread.
Nutrition
Calories: 321.45kcal
Total Fat: 13.69g
Carbs: 46.19g
Sugars: 25.9g
Protein: 4.95g
Sodium: 228.26mg
Fiber: 1.93g
** Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more. **