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Over the years, I have come to realize that baking a nice cake can be very easy, but it can also be equally challenging. A small variation in the composition of the liquid mixture or the amount of baking soda can make a cake hollow in the center. Similarly, old and inactive baking soda/powder might result in a hard, dense cake. A little excessive mixing of the batter can result in a rubbery texture and just a little more time in the oven can result in a hard crust! All said, a little experience will go a long away in baking the perfect cakes.
I know the bananas here look over-ripe. They needed to be over-ripe for the bread to come out good. Yogurt, banana puree, and apple sauce are the three most common egg replacers in cakes. Therefore, making an eggless banana bread was not that hard. Although yogurt is my favorite egg replacer in cakes, I used my standard cake recipe and replaced yogurt with banana puree to make this eggless banana almond bread. This recipe can easily be modified to make a vegan banana almond bread (see below).
Eggless Banana Almond Bread Recipe
(makes 8″ x 4″ loaf)
Ingredients
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour (I used unbleached all-purpose flour)
1/4 cup milk*
3 tbsp melted butter*
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 ripe or over-ripe bananas or 1 1/3 cup, pureed
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup raw brown sugar
2 tbsp chopped almonds
Method
Lightly grease a baking pan with butter and line the base with a cookie sheet.
In a bowl, add sugar to the melted butter and and mix well with a whisk until the mixture becomes frothy. Add milk, banana puree and vanilla extract and mix well.
In another bowl, add the baking soda and baking powder to the all purpose flour and mix with a whisk. Pour the prepared liquid mixture and mix gently until there are no lumps. Add 1 tbsp chopped almonds and mix gently. Avoid beating excessively** in order to prevent the cake from becoming rubbery.
Transfer this mixture onto the greased baking pan and garnish with the remaining chopped almonds. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350F /180C for 30 – 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Let the bread cool to room temperature before removing from the pan.
*Replace butter and milk with a vegetable oil for making vegan banana almond bread.
** Excessive mixing activates the gluten in the flour which makes the bread rubbery.