Strawberry and banana, the two go hand in hand, be it in a smoothie, a muffin or a quick bread. Banana bread (which is really a whole lot more like cake then any bread I’ve ever tried!) is our all time favourite go to loaf.
So quick and easy to make, naturally sweet, fat free without even having to try and easily made gluten free, dairy free and even sugar free depending on your preferences.
We love playing around with different flour combinations and mix ins and seen as Organic Strawberries have officially arrived we could think of no better way to make use of them…
So we bring you a quick and easy, hassle free, fool proof, banana strawberry coconut bread!
FYI – Organic Strawberries are still on offer on the online shop…two punnets for just €4.00! Bargain central! We’re also offering a 5% discount on all orders for one full week. Simply enter the code HAPPYP3AR at the checkout to receive your discount. No catches!
Ideally you’d use some sad looking overly ripe bananas but we couldn’t wait our patience this time around and it’s also a very rare occasion that bananas last long enough to blacken in our presence!
This mighty loaf serves 8 people quite generously. A beautiful crust, laced with strawberries and naturally sweet desiccated coconut, we didn’t use any additional sugar in this version. In the recipe below we’ve provided you with alternative options for a sweet loaf…though we encourage you to give it a whirl without the sugar.
It’s particularly delicious topped with white cashew butter…it’s the white chocolate of the nut butter world and a firm favourite with the majority of The Happy Pear crew! It’s made simply from raw organic cashews, blended to a buttery like consistency! No oil, salt or sugar added and it’s on sale at the moment! Well worth checking out here.
We like to go heavy handed with it but each to their own. The loaf itself is so healthy you can afford a bit of indulgence when it comes to the topping.
It’s also wonderful lightly toasted under a preheated grill!
Don’t be expecting a light and fluffy cake. This is one hearty loaf, gooey in all the right places with pops of those sweet strawberries in every other mouthful. One thick slice will satisfy even the biggest of appetites, be it for breakfast, an afternoon snack…
It will keep for about 5 days once wrapped and also freezes perfectly though we suggest slicing the loaf and freezing it as slices for quicker and much handier thawing!
Enjoy!
Strawberry Coconut Banana Bread
Servings – 8
Preparation Time – 15 minutes
Cooking Time – 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 90g (¾ cup) oat flour (ground from oats in a food processor)
- 150g (1 ¼ cup) wholegrain buckwheat flour
- 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour*
- 30g (¼ cup) almond meal/flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 60g (½ cup) unsweetened desiccated coconut
- ½ a punnet of strawberries diced (reserve a few thin slices for topping)
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed + 6 tbsp water**
- 100g (½ cup) coconut sugar (optional)***
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large ripe bananas puréed
- 310 ml (1 ¼ cup) almond milk (oat, soy, rice or dairy will work too!)
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 180C (350F, Gas Mark 4).
2.Mix together flax and water and set to one side for 15 minutes until “eggy” in consistency. If your using eggs simply whisk up.
3.Sift together almond meal, coconut flour, buckwheat flour and oat flour (having ground it from oats in the food processor!) with cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda.
4.Add desiccated coconut to dry ingredients and mix to distribute.
5.Blend bananas to a puree in a food processor with milk of choice and vanilla extract. Stir through flax or beaten eggs.
6.Add wet to dry and fold to combine.
7.Gently fold in diced strawberries before transferring to a line 2lb loaf tin.
8.Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
9.Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the loaf tin and cooling completely on a wire rack. For best results leave to cool before slicing.
And of course the raw white organic cashew butter on top comes highly recommended!
*You can replace the coconut flour with almond meal and reduce the milk to 250ml (1 cup)
**If you eat eggs you can use 2 small eggs to replace the flax eggs
***In replace of the coconut sugar you could use light or dark brown sugar or xylitol
Our local delivery area includes: Greystones, Delgany, Charlesland, Eden Gate. Please see a map below.
