Inspired by a friend’s chocolate banana bread she posted on FaceBook recently I have created my own vegan, gluten and refined sugar free version which pulls together inspiration from a couple of recipes I’ve been playing with over the last few months. If you’re anything like us, you’ll always have the odd over ripe banana in the fruit bowl. I freeze them into chunks and add them to cakes like this, or smoothies to use them up. They work just as well as fresh bananas so give it a go.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1 flaxseed egg (or real egg if not vegan)
- For flaxseed egg – 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed and 6 tablespoon water
- 100ml maple syrup
- 180ml non dairy milk – I use coconut, oat or almond
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 330g (3) ripe bananas, mashed plus 1 for decoration
- 200g gluten free flour – see my blend at the bottom of recipe
- 125g ground almonds
- 125g gluten free oats
- 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
- 100g hazelnuts or walnuts (omit if you have a nut allergy)
- 50g coconut sugar
- 150g Vegan chocolate chopped into chunks
- 1 tsp carob powder
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 175ºC.
In a mixing bowl whisk the flax seed egg and set aside.
Melt the coconut oil in a pan and set aside.
In a bowl mix the egg, maple syrup, milk, vanilla extract and mashed banana stirring as you add each ingredient. Add the melted coconut oil and combine.
In a second bowl mix the flour, ground almonds, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, carob and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and add the hazelnuts or walnuts (if using) and stir well. Add the coconut sugar and chocolate chips. Give it one last big stir, then pour into a loaf tin.
I love to decorate it with slices of banana which stay on the surface and look amazing when baked.
Bake in the oven for 50 minutes until golden brown and a cake skewer comes out clean. This loaf tastes delicious eaten warm from the oven but will keep for 4 days in an airtight tin. You can even spread it with coconut butter or a nut butter like almond or sunflower - yummy!