I've been making this banana bread for years and years with the original recipe, long before becoming vegan. This recipe comes from the very first cook book I ever received from my parents when I first moved out on my own...it's 'The New Doubleday Cookbook' by Jean Anderson & Elaine Hanna. I've also adapted my basic pancake, or best friend forever pancakes as I like to call them, recipe from this book. By no means is it a vegan cookbook, but fortunately, this recipe has made a fantastic transformation with my new lifestyle and is as good, if not better, than the original. It's moist, fluffy and delicious just as it has always been! I'm happy to share with you this wonderful banana tea bread that I have loved for many years and look forward to loving for many more to come. It's simple, straightforward and has not disappointed me yet!
This recipe was easy to veganize. It works great without eggs because we're adding extra banana. Bananas act as a binding ingredient which is what the eggs are used of here. The extra banana also helps to lessen the sugar called for in the original recipe, another plus. The riper your bananas are, the less sugar you'll find you need. Instead of using butter or vegetable shortening, I opt for oil. You can use coconut oil (in liquid form) or grapeseed or light olive oil (I tend to use light olive oil or coconut oil the most). Everything else from the original recipe has stayed the same. I also used coconut sugar in the bread you see here which will slightly darken the batter, keep in mind if using 100% pure cane sugar your batter will be a bit lighter.
Here is a before...I topped this one with some crumbled walnuts...even the batter is delish! I could sit and eat that all day...
And the after, so perfect and golden brown...beautiful vegan banana bread! ♥
BANANA TEA BREAD
- 1 3/4 cups spelt flour, or flour of choice
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup neutral flavored or warmed coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup organic pure cane sugar or finely chopped dates
- 4 small or 3 large bananas (preferably overripe), mashed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium/large size bowl and set aside. In a small bowl mix oil, sugar and vanilla. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients and mix briefly, set aside. Mash bananas, you should have approx. 1 3/4 cups, add to batter and mix until combined. Pour or spoon into a well greased loaf pan...I used coconut oil to grease mine. I don't use vegan butters, margarine's or sprays as I don't care for them. Bake for about 50 min to an hour. With my oven it only goes for 50 min. You can also do the toothpick test in the center of the loaf, if it comes out clean it's about ready. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 min.
Notes:
To make gluten free use gluten free all purpose flour or gluten free flour of choice.
I have made this replacing the oil with unsweetened apple sauce I purchase from Trader Joe's. It was just as good, a little denser and didn't rise as much but the flavor was still pretty good. I've also played around with using half oil and half unsweetened almond milk (equally 1/3 cup) with excellent results!
If using coconut oil, be sure it's warmed and in its liquid state.
Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batch for a different flavor.
Others toppings you may like are sesame seeds, rolled oats, sunflower seeds and pecans just to name a few.
FYI: I have just recently come across spelt flour and love it ! Here is more info on the nutritional aspect and history of spelt flour from Whole Foods: Spelt if you're not familiar with it. It's my new favorite and pantry staple, or fridge since that is where I keep my flours.
Enjoy!
I'd love to see your masterpieces! #thesimpleveganista