Serves: 6
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than 25p per person.
What are the benefits? This lovely banana bread is, of course, vegan, but is also benefits from being high in fibre and pretty low fat.
My nan’s banana bread is a real treat. It’s perfect, exactly how you’d expect banana bread to taste; light golden brown on the outside, soft and sweet in the middle with chunks of ripe banana running through. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
The only problem with my nan’s recipes is that they are impossible to replicate.
If you ask her how much of this to add or how long to cook that for, she’ll just say something along the lines of, “Just keep going in until it tastes right, just throw it in the oven until it looks right.” What does that even mean?!
So, with a lot of my nan’s cooking, I pick up the flavours and textures I like and try to replicate them in my own way – like this one.
I found the basic ingredients needed for banana bread (I’m not much of a baker AT ALL so always need a little help to get started) from Mary Berry’s Banana Loaf recipe on The Happy Foodie but, of course, wanted to put a twist on it.
What makes everything better? Chocolate. The answer is always chocolate, which is why my banana bread has some cheeky chocolate buttons thrown in. I also like to try and bake vegan-friendly (see my vegan chocolate Easter cake from last year) so this chocolate button banana bread is totally dairy-free.
It depends which ingredients you choose – the egg replacement, milk alternative or water, etc. – but the way I made it, using soya milk and chia seeds, gives you six thick slices (or eight regular ones) for as little as 20p per serving.
In terms of nutrition, I mean, cake is still cake. However, this delicious recipe is made with real fruit in every slice, packs in plenty of fibre and, thanks to the lack of dairy, is much lower in fat and cholesterol than most other cakes.
INGREDIENTS
2 Ripe Bananas
75g Dairy-Free Spread
100g Plain Flour
100g Caster Sugar
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tbsp Milk Alternative / Water
1 Egg Alternative (I used chia seeds mixed with water for a gel consistency, but you can use 1/4 cup of plain yoghurt, a tablespoon of unsweetened applesauce, or even just an extra 1/2 mashed banana!)
25g Dairy-Free Chocolate Buttons (can be found in ASDA for 37p, Tesco and Sainsbury’s for 40p, Morrisons for 42p and Co-op for 55p)
So, this is how I did it…
1. Peel and mash the bananas in a large bowl.
2. Add the spread, flour, sugar, bicarbonate of sofa, baking powder, milk and “egg” to the bowl and beat ingredients together (if you’ve got an electric whisk it’ll make your life muuuuch easier, but you can use a spoon or manual whisk if not).
3. Stir in the chocolate buttons.
4. Pour mixture into a medium-sized loaf tin lined with greaseproof paper and bake for 40 minutes on 180°C. Check the cake is cooked all the way through (stick a knife into the middle of the loaf and pull it back out – if cake mix is left on the knife, it needs longer. If the knife comes out clear, you’re good to go.)
5. Allow to cool and store in an airtight tin, or scoff a slice warm from the oven if you just can’t wait!
Tips & Tricks
- Dark chocolate chips are another great substitute instead of the buttons, they’ve got a more bitter taste if you don’t think you’ve got enough of a sweet tooth to handle this.
- Save some chocolate to one side, melt it down and drizzle it across the top of the loaf once it cools for an extra chocolicious touch!
- You don’t have to make this with chocolate at all – you could add raisins, walnuts or even peanut butter to make your own unique version.
#ThisGirlEats 