Hello lovelies, I have a slightly different version of the delicious banana bread for you today. It’s an autumnal banana bread with plums and hazelnuts. I just could not help adapting our favorite recipe a bit more seasonally. The result is this delicious variety with plum jam, roasted hazelnuts and cinnamon. You can probably imagine how the kitchen smelled, right?
I have also omitted sugar completely in this recipe. The banana bread contains only the natural sweetness of bananas, dates and applesauce. So delicious and with the addition of applesauce and sparkling water it still turns out super fluffy. The plum jam in the layers is just delicious and I was very happy that it worked so well. I got the freshly made plum jam from a dear friend of mine. Maybe you have already made some, otherwise you can of course also use a store bought one.
Recipe
And now here is the recipe for the banana bread with plums and hazelnuts:
Banana bread with plums and hazelnuts
Equipment
- Baking oven
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas
- 2 Tbsp flax flour or ground flax seeds + 5 Tbsp water (egg replacement)
- 80 gr (3 oz.) soft dates e.g. Medjoul
- 100 gr (3.5 oz.) apple sauce
- 100 ml (1/2 cup) plant-based milk e.g. oat or soy
- 100 ml (1/2 cup) sparkling water
- 300 gr (2 1/3 cup) spelt flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 50 gr (1.8 oz.) roasted hazelnuts
- 50 gr (1.8 oz.) vegan chocolate or chocolate drops
- 4-5 Tbsp plum jam
- 5-6 fresh plums
Instructions
- Mix flax flour or ground flax seeds with water and let it soak for about 5-10 minutes (you can use Chia seeds as well)
- Mash the bananas, put them in a mixer or food processor along with water, pitted dates, apple sauce and milk and mix well.
- Now add the soaked flax seeds and mix well
- Mix all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt) in a bowl and then add them to the moist ingredients
- Mix well until the dough is smooth and add the apple cider vinegar at the very end
- Roughly chop hazelnuts and chocolate and add them to the dough
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F)
- Grease and flour a loaf pan (25-30 cm/10-12“)
- Put the first layer of dough into the loaf pan, place 1-2 Tbsp plum jam on top. Then add a 2nd layer of dough and once again place plum jam on top, finish up with a layer of dough
- Coat it with fresh plums, hazelnuts and chocolate and bake for 45-50 minutes – check with stick if well done
- Let it cool off and enjoy it
Since the banana bread isn‘t so sweet, you can also perfectly enjoy it for breakfast and if you like, coat it with some more plum jam, nut butter or chocolate cream. You can be sure that we have tried all 3 versions and liked them. At the moment, I really enjoy sweetening recipes with dates because they are not only delicious, but also healthy. They contain vitamins, minerals and are even full of antioxidants. They are also high in calories, but a good source of energy.
I love this combination of warm and soft aromas, such as plum, cinnamon and crunchy nuts. Therefore, this banana bread is my favorite in autumn and winter. If you prefer the classics, then I already have a recipe on the blog here. This one is baked with walnuts and chocolate and no less delicious. And for the winter, when fresh cranberries are available again, of course I have the right version here.
The roasted hazelnuts are definitely the highlight of this banana bread with plums and hazelnuts. You can either roast them yourself, but you can get roasted hazelnuts more and more in the supermarkets and I can promise you, that really makes a big difference.
I hope I have inspired you to bake this delicious and autumnal banana bread with plums and hazelnuts. I am very excited about how you like it and look forward to your feedback.
Love, Verena
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