I used to have a real passion for baking cakes but as I spent a good few years counting calories before I became vegan it has been a long time since I baked anything other than bread.
One day last week I noticed three very overripe bananas in the fruit bowl. I hate to waste anything so knew I had to create a recipe to use them. I had purchased some lovely organic ground cardamon the day before and as the two flavours marry so nicely together I decided to create a Cardamon Banana Bread.
This was the first time I have baked anything remotely cake like in a long time and I was worried that I might have lost the knack but my finished Cardamon Banana Bread certainly didn’t disappoint.
My Cardamon Banana Bread is
fairly healthy (as far as cakes go!)
moist
delicious
topped with chewy roasted bananas
and has just the right amount of sugar and spice.
A beautiful crust forms whilst baking so please don’t blame me when you have to fight everyone in your household to get the crusty end bit. Tell them that I said “it’s the cook’s perk” and swiftly cut and run!
If you enjoy baking then check out my Lemon & Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins. They are super delicious!
Cardamon Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 medium bananas , make sure they are very ripe, (plus some extra slices for the top)
- 60mls | 1/4 cup coconut oil (liquid measure)
- 55g | 1/2 packed cup cane sugar , plus a little extra to sprinkle over the top before baking
- 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 230g | 2 cups spelt flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
- Grease a loaf pan (I used a 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
- Peel bananas and put in a large bowl.
- Mash with a fork.
- Add coconut oil, sugar, molasses, cardamon and salt.
- Beat well until very smooth. I used an hand mixer but you could use a stand mixer or do it by hand.
- Sift in your flour and baking powder and gently fold it all together. Do not use your electric mixer and do not over mix. You want it so that it is just combined and so that you cannot see any dry flour throughout the mixture.
- Pour into your prepared pan.
- Top with some sliced banana and a sprinkle of sugar.
- Bake in oven for 40 - 50 minutes until a tooth pick or skewer comes out clean when inserted through the middle.
- Leave to cool in pan for 5 - 10 minutes then remove and cook completely on a cooling rack.
Jane says
Intrigued by the roast banana on top! Must try! thank you.
A Virtual Vegan says
The roast banana on the top is so good! I can’t describe the texture well. Kind of chewy & fudgy perhaps? Let me know what you think when you make it!
Hillary says
I love the look of this! Also, I have WAY too many dried bananas… any ideas about how I could incorporate those?
A Virtual Vegan says
You could cook it without the banana slices on top, frost it then sprinkle dried banana chips over the top. That would be awesome! I’m not sure how it would turn out if you folded the dried banana into the mixture before cooking. That’s something I’ve never tried. It would probably be ok but I can’t guarantee a good result.
Dawn @ Words Of Deliciousness says
I love the combination of cardamon and banana. Your bread sounds really yummy!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Dawn!
Ariel Pingault says
This looks so good! 🙂 I make banana bread almost practically every weekend now to get rid of all of the pesky bananas that don’t go eaten throughout the work week, so I’ll have to give your version a try! It looks great! Thank you for sharing!
A Virtual Vegan says
Let me know how you like it Ariel!
Tamara says
This looks great! I love cardamom, and I have to agree, the roasted banana on top is intriguing!
Sarah says
Can I ask what will happen if when adding the flour I over mix it? Instead of folding the flour in. Just curious thank you.
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Sarah. When you over mix cake or muffin mixture you start to activate the gluten in the flour, kind of like you do when you knead bread. This makes the gluten strands elastic and will produce a dense and almost chewy result. This isn’t what you want when making cake or muffins. Just mixing enough to incorporate the flour is all you need to do to avoid this.
This great info graphic from cupcakeproject.com illustrates this perfectly.
Sarah says
Thanks so much that is very helpful and the picture says it all! 🙂
olivia giovanni says
I’ve never tried cardamom and banana.. A flavour combo to save in my recipe book!
Fareeha - faskitchen says
Looks delicious and fabulous.yumm
Byron Thomas says
I’ve never tried cardamom before… or have I? Is it commonly used in any day-to-day foods that I might be unaware of? Either way, this banana loaf would go so well with my afternoon tea!
A Virtual Vegan says
Byron it’s sometimes one of the spices in curry powder (not that this recipe tastes like curry at all!) and it’s often in chai tea so perhaps you have had it before without realizing.
Michelle@healthiersteps says
I love cardamom and use it in place of cinnamon all the time. Can’t wait to try your banana bread!
immaculatebites says
Love Cardamom! And love banana bread even more . I do some banana on the counter. This is one banana bread I have got to try. Thanks for sharing!!! Pinning!!
jacqadactle says
I’ve never thought of using cardamom in banana bread, what a great idea! I’m totally going to make this!
A Virtual Vegan says
Let me know how you like it Jacqui!
Madiha says
I love cardamom! It’s something I have everyday and any dish that calls for its addition is definitely on my to-do list; this banana bread is happening in my life soon 😀
Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
Hope you enjoy it Madiha!
Framed Recipes says
Banana bread looks perfect. Cardamom is essential to any sweet in Indian cuisine. Never tried it with banana bread. Next time I make banana bread, I know one of the flavors I am going to add. Thanks for sharing.
Healing Tomato says
I love a great cardamom recipe. This banana bread is so awesome
Molly ~ EasycookingwithMolly says
I Love homemade breads and the combination of banana-cardamom sounds fantastic! Awesome Recipe Melanie !
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Molly! It is one of my favourite recipes as I just love the flavours. In fact I haven’t made it for a while so might just change that this weekend!
Eve says
I made this today, it’s sooo good. The banana on the top is delicious too.
A Virtual Vegan says
That’s great Eve. I am so pleased you enjoyed it. The banana on the top is my favourite bit!