Wholesome Banana Bread

Finding a healthy cake recipe that the whole family can enjoy is the holy grail. But I think I’ve found it! This recipe doesn’t pump your kids full of sugar, but crucially, it also doesn’t compromise on taste. It’s got loads of nutritious ingredients in it, such as tahini, oats, and seeds. I use a small amount of partially-refined dark sugar to create a nice crumbly texture, but the rest of the sweetness comes from the bananas and dates. I’ve also used wholesome flours and even thrown in some ground seeds to add extra nutrition for our littles ones. That said, this is a brilliant recipe for anyone trying to cut down on sugar, big or small.

You can make this entire thing in the blender for speed, but I’ve found that the texture isn’t quite as nice.

ingredients

serves 10-12

• 115g mild olive or rapeseed oil

• 50g muscovado sugar

• 2 eggs

• 40g oat flour (I used blitzed oats)

• 100g spelt flour

• 2 tsp baking soda

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

• 25g ground seeds such as pumpkin, sunflower or flax seeds (I used a mix of all 3), ground nuts or extra oat flour

• ½ tsp salt (optional)

• 90g de-stoned dates, soaked in boiling water for 10 mins

• 3 very ripe bananas, peeled

• 40g tahini

instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Begin by soaking the dates. Grease a 2lb loaf tin and line the base and sides with baking parchment.

 Beat together the oil and sugar for a few seconds, then beat in the eggs, one at a time.

 In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking powder and salt, then sift into the sugar and egg mix. Add the cinnamon and ground seeds, then fold briefly until just combined.

 Drain the dates, then add to a blender along with the bananas and tahini. Blitz together (add a splash of water if it gets too thick) until it’s light, fluffy and smooth, then fold into the cake batter.

 Transfer to the lined tin and place in the oven for 45-50 minutes until golden and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cover the top with parchment if it gets too dark. Leave in tin for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack. Will last 1 week in an airtight container.