I am the newest fan of buckwheat. Ever since I got a bag to try out from Organic Himalaya, I have been using it to make pancakes, brownies and now, banana bread. I love baking with it as it’s gluten-free and essentially a superfood – buckwheat has a low GI, high in protein and dietary fibre. It also has a slightly nutty taste which I think works really well in cakes! I wanted a richer version of my traditional banana bread so I decided to jazz up the recipe with cardamom and raw cacao. I usually use cinnamon in my banana bread but I think cardamom and chocolate goes really well together so why not? Leave it out if you are not a big fan of this spice as it does have a strong flavour but I think it gives a nice earthy layer to the banana bread! This version is also vegan and since it’s not very sweet, I had to have it with a drizzle of maple syrup and a dollop of Greek yoghurt on the side. Enjoy!
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- 2 Tbsp raw cacao
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- 2 Tbsp coconut palm sugar
- 3 bananas, pureed
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp water
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil
- 3 tsp egg replacer powder mixed with 4 Tbsp water until foamy (you can replace this with a flax egg)
- 3 Tbsp mini chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 175°C.
- Sift together flour, cacao, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cardamom in a large mixing bowl.
- Add coconut palm sugar to the bowl.
- Puree bananas together with vanilla extract, water and coconut oil.
- Fold this into the dry mix and be careful not to over-whisk.
- Add egg replacer powder mixed with water and fold it in.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Transfer to a parchment lined 8" by 4" loaf tin and bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Wait till it's cooled before slicing.
Sounds super yum & dense! I make chocolate banana cupcakes/bread regularly but this is healthier. Do you think the cardamom taste will put kids off? Or it is very little? Also, where can I easily get coconut palm sugar? Sounds amazing 🙂
You can add a tiny amount of cardamom or substitute with cinnamon to make it more kid-friendly 🙂 Coconut palm sugar is available at most organic grocery stores or buy at iherb.com!