This is a yummy and simple recipe that our little chefs love making – you just throw all the ingredients in and bung it in the oven. Created by the glamorous sisters Hemsley and Hemsley, the bread has no sugar or flour, but still tastes amazing. It also contains almonds, which are full of Vitamin E and magnesium, and there’s Omega-3-rich flaxseed too – positively angelic.
Ingredients
Makes 1 bread in a 9in x 5in pan
300g very ripe bananas (roughly 3 medium bananas or 2 large)
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup – adjust to suit your taste buds
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
30g butter, melted
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
220g ground almonds
25g ground flaxseed
1 tablespoon of whole flaxseed plus extra for decorating the top of your bread
Also, a little extra butter and ground almonds for coating your bread pan
Method
Melt the butter in a small saucepan and allow to cool slightly.
In a mixing bowl mash the bananas to a pulp with a fork.
Add the maple syrup, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs, bicarbonate of soda and lemon juice (the lemon juice activates the bicarb). Mix well with a whisk.
Add the ground almonds, ground flaxseed and a tablespoon of whole flaxseed and mix well. Or, even speedier, you can throw all the ingredients into a blender – the texture will be smoother.
Grease your bread pan with butter and coat liberally with extra almond meal to prevent sticking, or line the tin with parchment paper and this paper then doubles as a wrap to store our banana bread (if it lasts past the next hour!).
Pour batter into the tin and bake for 60 -75 at 170C (less if making smaller breads or muffins) – a skewer inserted into the centre should come out dry. If your bread starts to look quite brown after the first 30 minutes then cover the top with foil or more parchment paper until your bread has finished baking.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little. Serve warm or at room temperature with some lightly salted butter and a cup of tea.
Store your bread covered in the fridge (remember there is no sugar or preservatives!) for up to a week or slice and freeze – that way you can have a slice at a time heated under the grill.