Banana Bread Gluten Free

I was just searching through my blog entries, and I can't believe I haven't posted a gluten free banana bread recipe, especially since I make it all of the time. If you do a search for "banana" in my blog, you'll find a wealth of recipes, many of which are actually vegan recipes I've tried out, and they are all delicious!

I'm very excited to share this recipe with you now. Honestly, banana bread is so forgiving, you can just sub a gluten-free flour blend right out with the AP flour in the a recipe. Here's one of my favorite gluten free banana bread recipes:

Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour

1 cup gluten free flour blend (Bob's Red Mill has a good one, and now even my local Trader Joe's has one!)

1 tsp baking soda
1/2 salt

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 large very ripe bananas

2 eggs
1/3 cup milk (any percent will do)
1 tsp distilled vinegar or lemon juice
optional add ins: 1/2 cup nuts or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch pan. 

Sift the flour with the baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Combine the milk and lemon juice in a cup or small bowl. Mash the bananas very well together in a medium bowl.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the bananas and mix another 20 seconds or so. Add the eggs, one at a time, just until incorporated.

Slowely and alternately mix in the flour mixture (in 3 parts) and milk mixture (in 2 parts), beginning and ending with flour. Blend well after each addition. Pour into pan and bake for about an hour until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Other recipes you might enjoy:

Vegan Banana Bread

Banana Maple Bread (vegan and gluten free)

Peanut butter banana cookies with peanut butter cups and walnuts

Vegan Banana Buttercream Frosting

It's been a year since we celebrated my roommates birth with an epic white chocolate banana birthday cake. This year she once again asked for something baked with banana and for the first time I actually had no over-ripe bananas!

Improvising, I tried to incorporate (vegan) banana buttercream filling into (vegan) chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting on top. Adding real banana, or any fruit to buttercream frosting causes it to separate and loose its texture, but it still worked for the filling and no one else seemed to notice ;)

For fun I added a (vegan) hand-rolled Belgium chocolate truffle on top of the peanut butter frosting.

My favorite flavor combination was actually the one cupcake that was dipped in chocolate ganache because I ran out of peanut butter frosting. It reminded me of a Hostess Cupcake but with a fresh, natural, banana, (and better) filling. It looked just like one and had the same texture without the weird sugar film you get in your mouth after eating Hostess products.

These cakes looked totally awesome, but I didn't take pictures except for this crappy one I took with my 3g phone. With this cupcake, I threw everything on it: banana buttercream filling, peanut butter frosting, a tiny chocolate truffle, then all dipped in chocolate ganache... tasty but messy looking.

Gina's (http://ginaespo.blogspot.com/) photo!

I realized I should have taken a picture of the Hostess look-a-like once I had eaten ½ of it, but I really didn’t want to stop to grab the camera. 

I plan to experiment with the banana frosting a couple more times- First with folding finely mashed banana in at the end and then possibly try heating up mashed banana, letting it cool and then folding it in at the end. Once I do all this, I'll update the blog.

Super Vegan Pancakes

Dear Gina, I turned your pancakes vegan, I hope you're OK with that...

If this makes you uncomfortable, please find comfort in knowing that they rocked- wish you where here to eat them with me!

Vegan Pancakes

(with banana, wheat germ & ground flax seed)

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp wheat germ
• 1 tbsp flax seed meal
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened, plain soy milk
• 3 tbsp melted margarine (earth balance)
• 1-2 very ripe bananas, thinly sliced into disks

Mix everything except for the banana slices together. Once well-mixed, stir in the banana. Scoop the batter onto a hot, margarined pan/skillet.

If you want thinner pancakes, add more soy milk and maybe a tbsp of canola oil.

Vegan Banana Bread

I just turned my mom's banana bread recipe vegan! It didn't rise as much as the regular recipe but the flavor and texture are on point.

iPhone 3G :/

Vegan Banana Bread

 
Preheat oven to 350. Margarine and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch pan.

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 salt

1/4 cup margarine (earth balance is good)
1/2 cup sugar

3 very ripe bananas, pureed
8 tsp unsweetened, plain soy milk

Sift the flour with the baking soda and salt.

Cream the margarine and gradually add the sugar. Add the bananas and blend thouroughly.

Slowely and alternetly fold in the flour mixture and milk mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Blend well after each addition. Pour into pan and bake for about an hour until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

White Chocolate Banana Birthday Cake

I know, I know I’m about to describe a weekend with another banana recipe. But in my defense it was my friend, Jen’s birthday and when asked if she had any special requests for her cake, she said anything— and then listed banana, peanut butter and chocolate as her favorite flavors….

So, there I was in the kitchen (for the third time in a row) mashing ripe bananas for a banana birthday cake (with a fluffy peanut butter frosting filling and a white chocolate ganache)!

While the flavors don’t sound like a cake for adults, it was quickly devoured by the birthday-goers, and really I think this cake will please anyone. While banana bread is dense, and peanut butter is thick, this cake was nothing but light and fluffy and quite sophisticated.

(Going back to my Tips & Tricks to Mix By may be helpful). For this cake, make the white chocolate ganache and the cake the night before and assemble it the next day (The day you need it). The flavor of all cakes significantly improve by the next day too…

Banana Cake

2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp sour cream
1 1/2 cup mashed banana (3 large bananas)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and lightly flour two, 8-inch round cake pans.

In an electric mixer on low speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix the eggs in one at a time until fully incorporate. Mix in the vanilla.

Sift flour, soda, powder and salt together in a separate bowl.

Add the dry ingredients to the batter, about 1/2 at a time, alternating with a 1/2 cup of the mashed bananas, mix after each addition and begin and end with the flour mixture.

Bake about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. (Tip: a light colored, metal cake pan, will keep the cake from browning too much. Glass or dark metal pans, will make your baked goods darken more in the oven.)

Let cool about 15 minutes, then gently remove from the pans and by flipping them onto wire cooling racks. Let cool completely before frosting (overnight).

White Chocolate Ganache

3 cups Guittard white chocolate chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp light corn syrup (adds a bit of shine to the ganache)

Place chocolate into a large heat-safe mixing bowl. Heat cream on the stove until boiling. Pour cream into the chocolate and whisk vigorously until the chocolate has melted smooth. (if you have difficulty turning mixture smooth, place in the microwave for 30 seconds, then keep whisking.) Near the end of this process, add the corn syrup. Cover and place in fridge for 24 hours.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 cup butter
2 cups Skippy smooth Peanut Butter
2/3 cups heavy whipping cream
8 cups powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in ½ of the powdered sugar. Mix in ½ of the cream. Beat in the remaining powdered sugar. Add more cream as necessary until the frosting is a good spreading consistency and the color is light in color and smooth. Place in fridge for 30-45 minutes.

Putting it All Together

When ready to pour the ganache over the cake, reheat the ganache in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between each interval. Repeat this process until it is completely melted and smooth. It should be a thick but pourable consistency.

Pour the ganache over the layered cake. Place the finished cake in fridge to let the ganache harden. Take your masterpiece out of the fridge an hour before serving.




...Maybe I should just start a website dedicated to bananas?

Seriously Bananas...

Why is it that when my roommates, my boyfriend or I have over-ripe bananas I feel the strongest need to rescue them from their lives ending in the trash and an anxious feeling that I need to make something with them?


"Don't throw them out, I'll make banana bread!"

This happened again the other night, three over-ripe bananas at Paul's place and I was already re-arranging my schedule to make time to bake banana bread. This is starting to happen quite often, why can't I just throw the bananas away like the average person that has expired fruit?!

It's just so easy, so delicious, and makes everyone happy. So before bed on a Monday evening I find myself in the kitchen again, baking banana bread. For a little twist, I added dark chocolate discs to one loaf.

Now, I am just not ready to give away my mom's banana bread recipe secret, but I will list some of my favorite baked things with banana in them:

• Wheatgerm banana pancakes
• Banana bread (obviously), but try adding semi-sweet chocolate discs, a peanut butter swirl, or pecans
• Banana cake with white chocolate frosting

...And grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich
(You don't even have to know how to bake a thing with this one!)

Ingredients:

• Two slices of your favorite bread (day-old honey wheat or challah are great choices)
• Your favorite peanut butter
• Banana sliced into thin discs (you want a banana that is just starting to speckle for this, a "ripe" banana --> )
• Butter (or margarine)
• Cinnamon and sugar (or Splenda sweetener) mixture

Instructions:

• Assemble sandwich with as much peanut butter as you like and lay as many banana discs flat as you can fit over the peanut butter
• Close up the sandwich and lightly butter both pieces of bread on the outsides of the sandwich
• Sprinkle cinnamon/sugar over the buttered outside pieces of bread
• Grill in a pan on the stove like you would with a grilled cheese
• Eat it! I do this with a knife and fork ;)

All you ever wanted to know and more about bananas on the Natural Health Blog: Learn Ripe Banana Facts About Nutrition and Calories. (I did a bit of Googling and the information seems to check out for the most part- Bananas aka SUPERFRUIT!)

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

I was tired of making banana bread but had some bananas that were passed their time, so I looked around online for some banana cookie inspiration. I tried a couple different small batches, slightly tweaking the first recipe I whipped up.

The first batch was yummy, but not quite what I wanted. The second batch had better flavor (I took out the coarse oat flour and reduced the sugar and butter).

Both batches were very banana-y! This can only be achieved by having a very, ummm, banana bread-like cookie, so it is a bit gooey. If you want the cookie texture, you lose the banana flavor and vice-verse.

But these are somewhat healthy treats (as far as cookies go) with only two tablespoons of butter, low in sugar, and made with whole wheat flour. Plus, there's fruit in it!

Recipe

Yield: 16 cookies

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare baking sheet with silicon sheet or parchment paper.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all purpose flour

2/4 cup wheat flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder (learn the difference between the two)

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp butter

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown

1 medium banana mashed well (about 1/3 cup)

1 egg

1tsp vanilla

2/3 cup Guittard white chocolate chips

In a separate bowl or large measuring cup mix together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. On low-medium speed, cream the butter. Gradually add in both sugars. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Mix in the mashed banana. Gradually, on low speed or by hand, add in the flour mixture. Stir in white chocolate chips.

You may want to refrigerate the dough for about 45 minutes. Drop by spoonfuls into prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-14 minutes, until the cookies look set and have just started to brown. Let sit for 5 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Cookies will be sticky, but oh so tasty. Try adding oats (quick cook or regular), if you want a heartier cookie. I plan to try a couple more batches with some tweaks (including adding oats!) and I will update the recipe then.

I also want to try this recipe with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.