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–+ servings
The finished banana bread

Banana Bread with Walnuts & Dates

Phil Andrews
Easy & foolproof vegan banana bread - very moist & tasty
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
resting time 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Vegan
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g wholemeal self-raising flour
  • 50 g ground almonds.
  • 3 tsp baking powder.
  • 45 g dark muscovado sugar can use light, but I prefer the dark muscovado (was 60g of sugar)
  • 50 g dates - 10 whole dates finely chopped (in half lengthways then into 5 or 6 smaller pieces)
  • 60 g walnut pieces toasted is good. 180°C for 10 mins. If you don't like nuts, just double the amount of dates and reduce the sugar to 45g to compensate (was 70g of nuts)
  • 1/4 tsp salt lo-salt is best - but ordinary salt is fine.
  • 3 tsps mixed spice can use 4 if you prefer.
  • 400 g very ripe bananas mashed. Approx 4 medium bananas
  • 50 g rapeseed oil extra virgin is best.
  • 50 g aqua faba just chick pea juice from a can or your latest batch of chickpeas

Instructions
 

Method

  • Heat oven to 180°C ordinary – i.e. not fan – this doesn’t work as well on fan oven.
  • when the oven is up to temperature is a good time to toast the walnuts if you're going to - 150°C for 10 mins. Break them into small pieces once they're toasted and cooled.
    Toasting the walnuts
  • Chop the dates - in half, first, then into 4
    chopping the dates
  • Brush a 450g loaf tin with a little oil or margarine then line the bottom with greaseproof paper also greased.
    Lining the baking tin
  • Mix the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, salt, mixed spice & sugar together.
    sugar, flours etc
  • Whisk the aqua faba until it's quite stiff and around 250ml in volume
    whipping the aqua faba until stiff
  • Whisk or beat together the mashed banana, oil etc, but not the aqua faba.
    the whipped banana and oil mixture
  • Pour all the now mixed wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients.
    adding the wet to the dry plus nuts and dates
  • Whisk together with a hand electric mixer (works best) or mix quickly with a wooden spoon.
    the banana bread mixture
  • Quickly fold in the aqua faba until well mixed.
    adding the whipped aqua faba
  • Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.
    mixture in tin after aqua faba folded in
  • Shake back and forth enough to level the contents.
  • Bake for 35 mins on middle or just above middle shelf, turning down to 150°C for the last 30 minutes & covering the top towards the end if it starts to look too brown.
  • After the 1 hour - Insert a skewer into the centre of the cake – it should come out clean. If not, return to the oven and cook for a further 5 to 10 mins.
  • Cool for 15 mins before taking it out of the tin.
  • Allow to cool thoroughly before slicing.
    the cooked banana bread
  • Very nice with margarine and peanut or almond butter, or just as is.
    The cut loaf end

Notes

  • Toasting the walnuts first is good - 180°C for around 10 minutes - then break into small pieces.
  • Bananas need to be really quite ripe - i.e. not really suitable for eating as they are.
  • You can usually pick up over-ripe bananas - around 8 of them for £1.00 in a greengrocers - then freeze them.
  • Alternatively, if you have bananas that are going over ripe, then peel them, and chop into pieces and freeze. When you have 400g you can make a loaf!
  • Harvest are good for nuts - cheaper than LIDL, and ethically sourced!
  • Silverwood bakeware with a loose bottom is the best & easiest to use.
  • This type of loaf doesn't work well with fan ovens - it tends to burn the outside before the inside is properly cooked.
  • If you cook your own chickpeas, make sure to save the water - freeze it in 200g lots in takeaway containers. Then defrost and divide into 25g cubes in an ice-cube maker......
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!