Baking has always been something that both challenges and relaxes me. Nowadays I don't get to bake anymore because eating sweets are known to be bad for cancer patients and cancer prevention. Sugar itself doesn't really "feed" cancer as they say, but foods with a high glycemic index, like refined sugars, will make your insulin levels go up, hence increasing the inflammation in your body, which then makes your body an ideal environment for cancers to grow. Chronic inflammation can also cause other problems like pains, longer recovery time after workouts, irritable bowel syndrome, high cholesterol and blood sugars, poor energy and mood etc. So in general, sweets are NOT GOOD FOR YOU, but mama has intense cravings sometime, usually manifesting in sinful ovaltine bubble tea. Fortunately I do have a tiny few low glycemic desserts under my pocket. This one I consider one of them because there is really so little sugar in it. Coconut sugar has a slightly lower glycemic index so its considered a little bit healthier than other sugars, and non refined sweeteners such as agave syrup, honey and maple syrup are considered healthy as well. With only half cup sugar in the entire loaf, I have no problem offering this to my baby also, and she loves it! Adding cinnamon and walnuts also gives us a chance to eat more cancer fighting spices and protein boosters throughout the day.
This recipe seems like more ingredients than I would prefer, but they are all staples in my pantry so I rarely even have to go to the store for anything. To speed up the process, I like to prepare the baking pan and microwave the butter first, then prepare the dry bowl and the banana bowl to set aside. These will be added to the big bowl later. When I have everything organized beforehand, the whole process takes me under 25 minutes leaving me ample time to rest while Bevy naps. If you guys have any low glycemic dessert recipes under your belt, please share them to me on Instagram!
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (225g)
1 tsp baking powder (5ml)
1 tsp baking soda (5ml)
1 1/4 cups mashed ripe banana (approx 3-4 bananas)
1/4 cup coconut cream
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup unsalted butter (115g)
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp agave syrup
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
handful chopped walnuts (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
Grease the bottom of a loaf pan (9x5 inch) with a drop of oil and line with a strip of baking paper, letting the paper hang over both sides.
Microwave butter for 20 seconds to soften.
DRY BOWL - Mix flour with baking powder and baking soda in a small bowl, set aside.
BANANA BOWL - Mash bananas in a small bowl, then mix with coconut cream and lemon juice, set aside.
BIG BOWL - Put butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl, cream together with electric mixer. Add egg, vanilla, agave, and beat until smooth. Then at low mixer speed, add the flour mixture and banana mixture alternately until everything is combined. Add cinnamon and walnuts and mix till combined.
Pour into loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour. I would let it bake for the full hour unless the top is getting burnt, in which case i would take it out and test if it's done by inserting a toothpick into the centre. If the toothpick comes out clean and pretty dry, then it's cooked!
Take the banana bread out by pulling on both ends of the baking paper. Remove the paper and let the loaf cook on a wire rack. You should do this step immediately after removing from the oven otherwise the bottom will get soggy.
TIPS
This recipe was adapted from Ricardo Cuisine. But i made some changes according to my personal preferences.
If you can't find coconut cream, you can use 1/2 cup coconut milk, which is what the recipe originally suggested. You cannot taste any coconut in this banana bread, the coconut milk/cream just serves to make the crust softer.
I halved the sugar content of the original recipe and that's why i added some agave syrup too, since its healthier. If you don't have agave, feel free to omit it or substitute with a little more sugar. If you don't have coconut sugar, which I also use because it is healthier, you can use regular or brown sugar.
I like chopping up my walnuts pretty fine because i don't like big crunchy chunks in the banana bread.
Make sure that the bananas you use here are very ripe (a.k.a. full of black spots) if you want the banana flavour to come through.
This recipe is super moist. You will want the banana bread to cool down completely before you cut it so it has a chance to firm up, otherwise it will be really soft.
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