Our recipe for this month is something that has become a staple food in our house over lockdown as it seems to have been in many households – the beloved banana bread! I wanted to make my loaf slightly more special so I used – yes you guessed it one of my bundt loaf tins! I was slightly worried about how it would turn out but it worked well. Someone asked me the other day how my cakes don’t stick to the tins so I wanted to mention that it is key that the tin is well greased. I use coconut oil and wipe it around the entire tin with some kitchen roll and I do this for at least 5 minutes to make sure every area is covered. This recipe came from the lovely Deliciously Ella ‘The Plant Based Cook Book’. Happy baking!

Ingredients

430g ripe, peeled bananas (about 4 bananas)
20g pecans, halved – I have also used flaked almonds which works really well

For the dry ingredients

150g ground almonds
125g buckwheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

For the wet ingredients

190ml maple syrup
55ml chickpea water (I have used it without this and it works fine)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Instructions

* Preheat the oven to 190C (fan 170C). Line a 23 x 13 x 7 cm loaf tin with baking parchment. I used a bundt loaf tin which I greased well with coconut oil.

*  Put the bananas into a mixing bowl and mash with a fork until smooth and creamy – the riper they are the easier this will be.

* Next stir in the dry ingredients, mixing them well with the bananas. Then add the wet ingredients and stir until a smooth batter forms.

* Spoon the mixture into the lined loaf tin, then sprinkle the pecan halves over the top evenly.

* Bake the loaf in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean; if it doesn’t leave the loaf in the oven a little longer.

* Once ready, leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes to firm up, before transferring to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.