I want to share with you one of my tried and tested recipes for banana bread. I have been making this for years, initially with brown sugar but I have tweaked the recipe so it is sugar-free, gluten-free and vegan friendly.

Feel free to tweak away too! If you want to use eggs do, if you want to use another type of flour do. The recipe is fool proof and always delivers.

I was the lucky recipient of a goodie bag containing products sold by http://www.greenspoon.co.ke

GreenSpoon Kenya is an online one-stop shop where you can find quality produce which has been locally sourced and tested. I really value their food philosophy which empowers local growers and businesses big or small.

For this recipe I used Twajenga buckwheat flour which is a rich artisan flour grown in Nakuru and ground by the traditional stone method. Although its name can be deceiving, buckwheat is not a grain but a fruit seed related to its cousin the rhubarb. It is therefore, a good alternative for those who are sensitive to wheat or grains that contain protein glutens.

The taste of buckwheat is strong and it is a good idea to mix it with other flours or add flavours, which is where the Sushila’s Chai spice comes in! Also available at GreenSpoon is this little jar of deliciousness. It has added depth of flavour to this loaf, and it is also great for lattes… it closely resembles the taste of Chai tea lattes from a well know coffee shop chain which we shall call Starmoola, wink wink!

Banana chai loaf

180g Buckwheat flour
100g Cassava or oat flour
2 eggs (flax seed egg substitute: 2 tbsp ground flax mixed in 6 tbsp of water)
100g butter or coconut oil
200mls Milk of choice (I used rice milk)
130g dates
2 medium/large ripe bananas
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
4  tsp Chai spice or 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp cardamon, 1/2 allspice and pinch of black pepper.

How to:

Melt the oil or butter. Into a powerful mixer blend the oil, dates, milk and eggs/flax mix.
Add the wet mixture to all the dry ingredients, if too dry add a little more milk.
Bake at 180/350 for 50min

Enjoy!

Marina