When I first considered going vegan, one of the things that concerned me was baking! That likely seems a bit ridiculous, but I grew up with amazing home-baked goodness (thanks Mom!), and I wasn't convinced that I could enjoy vegan baking. I was worried it would taste flat, or that I would miss some fav treats. Well, not only have I been pleasantly surprised by how wonderful vegan baking can be, I actually have found it pretty easy to adapt many family recipes and have found the results to be equal or superior to the originals.
One of those recipes that is just way better a la vegan is my banana-nut bread. I have experimented with a number of good recipes, and have found the following proportions to yield consistently yummy results. The recipe that follows is not only easy, it requires no odd-ball ingredients. Hope you will bake some this weekend and enjoy the wonderful aromas of toasted nuts and bananas and cinnamon - the best part, of course, is that fresh slice just out of the oven. Only six points on Weight Watchers, and full of good nutrition - NO empty calories here :)
Pami's Vegan Banana-Nut Loaf
Ingredients:
2 tsp. vegan margarine (for buttering the loaf pan)
1/4 cup soy milk, with 2 tsp. of apple cider vinegar mixed in
3 ripe, medium-size bananas, mashed well (or puréed)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts (or pecans)
Method:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a pyrex loaf pan with the vegan margarine. Measure the soy milk into a small bowl and stir in the cider vinegar - let stand for 5-10 minutes, the mixture will curdle/thicken. Meanwhile, mash or purée the bananas in a medium-sized bowl, adding in the vanilla and canola oil. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugars, salt, soda, cinnamon and 1-1/4 cups of the nuts - save about 1/4 cup of the nuts to use as topping. Stir the soy milk mixture into the banana mix, then fold in all of the flour mixture until well-combined. Use a spatula to get all of the batter in the prepared loaf pan. Top with reserved nuts, pressing the nuts down with a clean spoon so that they are embedded in the batter.
Bake for one hour, and check for done-ness, by inserting a small sharp knife into the centre - it should come out clean and dry. If the loaf is still moist, reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake an additional 10 minutes - test again. The baking time really does vary with the moistness of the fruit you use, humidity in your home etc. - worth a little fussing, honest! Basically, you don't want to burn the exterior of the loaf, but you want the interior to be cooked! You may need to bake the loaf an additional five minutes if it's still a bit damp inside at the second test - just turn off the oven, close the door, and let the residual heat finish the job, if this is the case.
Happy baking mmmm :)
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