Baobab Banana Bread by Nourishing Jessica

There's something incredibly comforting about a slice of warm banana bread. Here, the talented and health-conscious culinary arts student Jessica Simmons shares her healthy, gluten-free version, which is just as delicious as it looks. The addition of our baobab, gives extra nutrients, but equally importantly, a fresh zingy flavour that lifts this gorgeous cake to a whole new level! Nip onto Instagram to discover Jessica's daily posts of healthy creations, we're particular fans of her most amazing smoothie bowls.


Jessica, over to you: 

Banana bread is my absolute weakness - it's so moist and tasty! I just had to create my own recipe so I could curb my craving in a healthy way. The most amazing thing about banana bread is it uses super ripe ‘what-do-i-do-with-these?!’ bananas - normally I freeze them for smoothies or nana ice cream but sometimes the house wife comes out of me and I really just feel like baking! This baobab banana bread is gluten free, clean and probably the most delicious thing I have ever made. The addition of organic burst baobab powder gives a Vitamin C and iron boost. Did you know Baobab contains more Vitamin C than oranges and more iron than red meat? Impressive, I know. I hope you all will try this recipe when you have some over-ripe bananas in the corner of your kitchen! 

Ingredients

1 cup almond meal
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour
2 tsp Organic Burst Baobab Powder
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 medium organic eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup fresh dark choc chips (optional)
1/4 cup full-fat Greek yoghurt (coconut if vegan)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup of rice malt-syrup
1 tbsp coconut sugar (or 1 tsp stevia)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180*C 
2. Combine the wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
3. Combine the dry ingredients together in a different bowl.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry very slowly and lightly fold together until all flour pockets are gone, only around 10-20 seconds - do not over mix it because this will make the bread too dry and dense! 
5. Line a loaf tin with parchment or baste with coconut oil so it doesn't stick to the sides.
6. Pour in the mixture gently and then sprinkle the top of the batter with more choc chips, cinnamon and little coconut sugar for a caramelized effect. 
7. Pop in the oven for 40 mins. 
8. When baked, turn out onto a rack and allow to cool before slicing and serving with some orange zest.