Banana bread

I had a bunch of overripe bananas lying around, so Shaudi gave me her banana bread recipe. I made a couple little changes in an attempt to convince myself I'm not just eating big slices of cake.



Banana bread
1/4 c. soymilk, plus 1/4 tsp. apple cider vinegar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. Earth Balance
1/4 c. unsweetened apple sauce
3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 c.)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. roasted, chopped walnuts or pecans
1/3 c. chocolate chips (optional; throw in a few more nuts instead)

Topping
2 tbs. whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. canola oil

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9" loaf pan.

Use a fork to blend together the topping ingredients in a small bowl. It should form a crumbly mix. Set aside. Stir the vinegar into the soymilk and set aside.

Cream together the margarine, sugar, and applesauce until thoroughly mixed. Add the bananas, vanilla, and soymilk and mix well again.

Sift together the flour, cinnamon, soda, and salt. Gently stir into the wet mixture until everything is moistened. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips, and then scrape the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter.

Bake for 55-60 minutes. Around the 35-40 minute mark, you might need to cover your bread with foil to slow down the browning of your topping. Test for doneness by inserting a knife or skewer into the middle of the loaf. It should come out clean.

Remove your pan from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Use a flexible spatula to lift the loaf from the pan and set it on a cooling rack to cool completely.

I’m now realizing that the topping to my peanut butter coffee cake would be amazing on this bread. Or even swirls of peanut butter directly in the batter. If you decide to give it a try, let me know how it tastes!