Super Bran, Date, Carrot and Banana Breakfast Loaf
This delicious and healthy banana breakfast loaf is brilliant served warm with a lick of butter and a cup of tea on the side – what a great way to start the day.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dates chopped
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 50 g butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 very ripe bananas mashed
- 1 carrot loosely packed, grated
- 1 cup walnuts or other nuts chopped
- 1 ½ cups wholemeal flour
- ½ cup bran
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/355 Fahrenheit.
- Place dates and water in a small pot and boil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently to mash up the dates. Add baking soda and mix well – it will froth up a bit.
- Beat butter with sugar and vanilla until thick, light and creamy, then beat in egg. Mix in mashed banana, carrot, nuts and dates.
- Stir flour, bran, baking powder and mixed spice together. Add to wet mixture and fold the two mixtures together (with a large metal spoon) until well combined. Do not over-mix.
- Spoon batter into a greased loaf tin and roughly smooth out the top. Bake for 45 minutes or until loaf springs back when lightly touched. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out.
Notes
Tip: the loaf freezes well. You could easily freeze this banana breakfast loaf to toast when you feel like it – just make sure you freeze it in slices. This loaf is packed full of fibre from the bran – fibre is very important for your digestive system, as well as for regulating blood sugar. I’m a big fan of loafs, so if you like this one then be sure to try my gluten-free banana coconut and lemon loaf, or date, carrot and cranberry loaf.