Banana breadOh yes, this actually tastes as good as it sounds.  All of my favourite things rolled into one loaf of deliciousness.

Over-ripe, about to die bananas make the best banana bread, so don’t ever throw them away.  This is a doddle to make, and will make you look like quite the accomplished baker (even when you’re not – like me – hah!).

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

  • 3 or 4 ripe, medium bananas (the more the merrier I say), mashed
  • 2 eggs, large
  • 1/2 cup organic peanut butter (I used salted, smooth peanut butter but any would do). Almond butter would work well too
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted (can substitute for coconut oil too)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
  • 1/4 cup agave/honey (optional)
  • 1 cup of gluten free oats, ground (I use my nutribullet but any kind of blender/food processor will do)
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • Handful of dark chocolate chips (optional)

Method:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 175°C (I use a fan oven)
  2. Line a standard loaf pan (9 x 5 ) with baking parchment (this makes for super easy removal of the banana bread, alternatively you could oil the pan)
  3. In a large bowl mix together the oats, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt
  4. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, banana, peanut butter, vanilla essence, butter and agave/honey (if using)
  5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and gently stir to combine (be careful not to over mix)
  6. Gently fold in the chocolate chips if using
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until set in the centre and a knife/tooth pick comes out clean.  It’s easy to burn this so keep an eye on it!
  8. Let it cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes before moving to a wire rack to let cool completely (although this almost never happens – there is little else that makes me happier that warm banana bread with melting chocolate chips in the middle!)
  9. Dig in!
  10. This stores well in an airtight container for up to a week, although ours tends to get devoured way before then.

Additional notes:

This mix also works well as muffins. Instead of filling a loaf pan, divide the batter into muffin cases in a muffin tray and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife runs clear. This batter makes about 14 muffins.

Banana muffins