All baking is alchemy, and there are several magical things about this vegan sugar-crusted banana loaf cake: the banana-vanilla flavours; the fact that it rises well despite the quantity of mashed banana; and the lovely sugar crust that results from a long baking time.
On top of that, it’s pretty much foolproof.
This loaf was adapted from a banana bread recipe by Ellen Helman in a brilliant cookbook called The Uncommon Gourmet.
For a more wholesome version you can substitute some of the white flour with wholemeal. (In the pictured banana loaf I used about one third wholemeal.) It gives the loaf a slightly more bread-like but still soft crumb.
vegan sugar-crusted banana loaf…
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 80 g melted coconut oil
- 175 g soft brown sugar plus 2 tbsp for the crust
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 400 g very ripe bananas (peeled weight; 3 to 4 medium bananas)
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 425 g plain flour
- 2 level tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- good pinch of salt
Method
- Set the oven to 180°C/360°F. Lightly oil and line the base of a 2 lb loaf tin.
- Stir the flaxseed into 5 tbsp (75 ml) water and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flaxseed mixture, vanilla, sugar and melted coconut oil and stir thoroughly.
- Mash the bananas, stir in the lemon juice and set aside.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a separate bowl.
- Sift two-thirds of the flour mixture into the sugar, oil and flaxseed mixture and stir through.
- Then add the mashed banana and stir until evenly distributed, before adding the remaining flour and stirring until combined. Don’t over stir at this stage.
- Transfer the mixture to the loaf tin and level the top a little.
- Sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp of brown sugar evenly across the top.
- Bake for around an hour, until the crust is a deep golden colour and a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
- Leave the loaf to cool completely before removing from the tin and slicing.
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