So I’m not actually a vegan but I eat like one sometimes and I thought I’d try a vegan banana bread today… I love banana bread! I’ve been making them since I was a kid, I know it so well I don’t even use measurements anymore, I just dump it all in. I tried the Post Punk Kitchen one which I linked to in the previous post. I did use the measurements this time as I figured it would be a lot harder to judge.
During the mixing process for the wet ingredients I was sure I must have done something terribly wrong as it all looked curdled and disgusting but once I mixed in the dry ingredients it looked better but still not any kind of consistency I was used to for banana bread but I wasn’t surprised at that so much as vegan baking rarely looks like regular baking until it’s done. It bubbled over in the oven and made a huge mess. At that point the top looked almost done but the stick I inserted in the middle came out totally full of batter – again I thought it was almost a lost cause – but I scraped away the mess and let it cook some more and sure enough after just over an hour it was ready.
I let it cool for a bit before trying to get it out of the pan but that was harder than expected… I always sprinkle a little sugar on top to make it kind of crunchy and it seemed the top had become really hard and chewy while the rest was much more soft, delicate and mushy than I was used to. I did manage to get it out of the pan and let it cool more before cutting. I think I should have waited longer as the tough crust on top combined with a really soft body made getting a decent looking slice out of it pretty hard.
The eating was definitely the best part! It was moist and delicious and I loved it! But if I’m being honest I didn’t love it as much as I love the buttery version I’ve grown up with. I would make it again if I had a vegan guest – I would put in way more spices and a little less of everything else to hopefully avoid the mess. Also I wouldn’t put the sugar on the top as it just made the texture a bit much. But for me week to week I’ll be sticking with the eggy buttery old school version for which my “recipe” is listed below.
1/2c room temperature butter
1c sugar (any will do I usually use an unbleached cane or demera)
2 free range eggs
4 over ripened bananas (once they’re brown you can keep them for ages in the freezer until you’re ready to make it then just defrost at room temperature)
2c flour (any will do I usually use a wheat & self raising white mix)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla
Cream together butter and sugar, add in eggs, vanilla and bananas and stir well (leaving the bananas as chunky as you like), add in all the dry ingredients and stir well – my ready to go in the oven consistency is gloopy, it should take a minute to fall off an upside down spoon – “pour” into a greased pan (can use any small pan not just a bread one) – sprinkle a little sugar on top for a crunchy finish. You can also add in nuts, dried cranberries or raisins, I even throw in the discarded bits from the juicer for a healthy kick.