I like bananas as such but I’m not a fan of anything else that tastes of banana, in fact, I usually stay far away from all things that might have some hidden banana in them, not to mention the ever so dreadful banana flavouring! This is why banana bread was never anywhere near my top ten cakes or any other list like this.

This was until recently, when having a coffee in a bar I fancied some cake and, to my great disappointment, all they had was banana bread. Desperate for any cake really, I thought: what the hell, let’s give it a chance! And, although ‘impressed’ might be a bit of an overstatement, ‘positively surprised’ is definitely the right term to describe what I experienced.

That banana bread was moist, so very moist! Slightly sweet with a hint of cinnamon and ginger and slightly salty; I imagined toasting it and then putting some peanut butter and jam on top. I liked the idea so much that I thought I must make it. So I did, a couple of times to get things right, but I must say that I really, really like it!

The recipe I’m offering you is plant based, gluten free, refined sugar free and low in fat. It’s also spicy and so very moist! And of course, I like to keep things simple, so the whole thing will be ready in 45 min (including baking!).

Ingredients:

• 3-4 ripe bananas
• 100ml almond milk
• 4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 6 tbsp maple syrup
• 200g oat flour*, gluten free if needed
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• a pinch of salt
• peanut butter & jam (optional)

*You can make oat flour by simply blending oat flakes in a high speed blender.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Put the bananas in a blender together with the milk and blend until smooth. Add coconut oil and maple syrup and mix.
2. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix. Add the mixed wet ingredients and mix all until smooth. Pour into greased tin and bake for 30-35 min.
3. Take out of the oven and set aside to cool or eat hot with peanut butter and jam.

Enjoy!