It's moist and it's perfect and it's been in heavy rotation for a very long time. I don't usually publish recipes from my cookbooks to my blog, but for this one, I have to make an exception. I created this recipe for my Estonian vegan dessert cookbook a couple of years ago and since then, it has served me well. This banana bread is also the favorite dessert at my cooking workshops. We usually serve it with banana ice-cream or vanilla ice-cream. Every time it hits the spot and ends the feast with a really fabulous sweet note.
Since this recipe is such a classic for me, I also decided to bake it on my cooking show and make a video of it. If you skip the chocolate chips, this banana bread will be sugar free. The batter is sweetened with dates. But as I'm saying in the video, I would think twice about skipping the chocolate :)
If you keep the bread in the fridge, it will be delicious even after a couple of days. So you can make it ahead and enjoy it every now and then with a hot cup of tea or coffee. I really hope you will love it as much as I do!
Preparation time: 10 minutes active, 30 minutes passive. Total: 40 minutes.
Serves: 10 x 5 inch / 26 x 12 cm loaf pan, about 10-12 slices
Ingredients:
- ½ cup + 2 heaping Tbsp / 100 g whole-wheat flour or use gluten-free flour mix instead of wheat flours (my favorite is Schär's gluten-free mix)
- 1 cup / 150 g all-purpose flour or white spelt flour
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- ¾ cup / 120 g dried and pitted dates
- ⅓ cup / 80 ml plant milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
- ¼ cup / 75 ml oil (sunflower oil for example)
- 1 ½ cup / 200 g sliced bananas
- ½ cup / 100 g dark vegan chocolate chips (my favorite is Odense brand)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C. Whisk the flours with baking powder and salt. In another bowl, pour some boiling water over the dried dates and let them soak for a few minutes until you prepare the other ingredients. Pour plant milk into a blender (or use a hand blender) along with vinegar, oil and banana slices. Now drain and rinse the dates. Even if they are pitted, they might contain some hidden stones, so I recommend to check every date. Now add the dates into the blender and blend with other ingredients, until you have a creamy light brown mixture. When the oven has reached its temperature, mix the dry ingredients with the wet mixture and fold in the chocolate chips (leave a handful for decorating). Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan, decorate with chocolate chips and bake for 30-35 minutes. Let it cool before slicing. Enjoy! :)
