Sweet Sunday: banana bread

Last week we seem to have gone bananas over banana shopping. Oscar, who always checks our shopping bags, probably thought that his beloved humans were crazy bringing so much fruit into the house. Well, he sort of had a point – we didn’t eat them and by Friday the small left-over bunch of potassium-rich nature’s sweet gifts looked all spotty and unappetising. I pulled out my trusted recipe for a delicious banana bread and went baking.

The original idea comes from Dr. Andrew Weil, so it’s pretty healthy, sugar-free and packed with potassium, magnesium and fibre. It’s made without eggs, so if you are allergic, it’ll make a lovely tea-time treat for you to enjoy. I have replaced canola oil with EV olive oil (because canola isn’t always around) and vanilla essence with fresh seeds. If I made a winter version I substitute vanilla with cinnamon. I also like using cinnamon instead of vanilla sometimes, especially in winter. It’s very important to use small bananas, each weighing 85-90g. These days bananas are often huge, so if you use anything larger than 90g, you may end up with a gooey mess. Weight yours before mashing – sometimes 2 very large bananas do nicely.

BANANA BREAD

INGREDIENTS

3 ripe bananas (90g each, skinless weight)
1/2 cup raw honey
3 tbsp canola oil or EV olive oil, plus a little more for oiling the loaf pan
1 tsp pure vanilla extract or seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
1 1/2 cups organic whole-wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

DIRECTIONS

• Heat the oven to 175C(fan) degrees. Lightly oil a loaf pan lined with greaseproof paper.
• Mash the bananas and mix with the honey, oil and vanilla.
• Stir together the whole wheat pastry flour and baking soda. Add the nuts.
• Blend the two mixtures and spoon into a loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set.

Bon Appetite!

Photo source: juriah / 123RF Stock Photo