I love fruit loafs and spiced cakes that you can toast in the morning and have for breakfast. I am not a massive fan of banana bread though as I don’t generally like anything flavoured with banana, I just think it’s got a funny aftertaste. And so this is where I came up with an idea for banana-free bread, ha!

Apple has got a nice, quite neutral flavour and it gives this bread lovely moisture and a fruity note. The addition of nuts and raisins makes the consistency richer and more interesting but it’s not necessary if you’re not a fan, the recipe will work without them. And lastly the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom gives this bread a lovely spice kick with a lot of character. You guys really need to try this recipe.

It’s easy and quick to make, you can eat it hot pretty much minutes after taking out of the oven or you can have it later cold or toasted with some peanut butter and raspberry conserve like I did – tastes heavenly!

Ingredients:

• 180g oat flour *
• 100g plain flour
• 50g brown sugar
• 2 flax eggs **
• 5 tbsp. maple syrup
• 200ml apple juice
• 3 tbsp. peanut butter
• 100ml coconut oil, melted
• 1 apple, grated (no need to peel)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• ½ tsp. ground cardamom
• 1 handful raisins (optional)
• 1 handful walnuts (optional)
• a pinch of salt

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a loaf tin and lay it with baking parchment, set aside.
2. In a large bowl mix oat flour, plain flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
3. Add apple juice and maple syrup to melted coconut oil and mix thoroughly.
4. Add the wet mixture to the bowl with dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Add peanut butter, grated apple and flax eggs and mix again, then add raisins and walnuts (optional) and a pinch of salt, give it a quick stir and place the mixture in the prepared loaf tin.
5. Bake for 35-40 min until a wooden skewer comes out dry. Take out of the oven and set aside to cool. Store in room temperature for up to 3 days.

Enjoy!

* To make oat flour simply blend oat flakes in a food processor or high-speed blender.

** Here’s how to make a flax egg.