Pumpkin Spice Banana Bread
For my readers back home you’ll be able to find ingredients like pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice in the grocery store, but alas Australia does not carry these items so we’re starting from scratch.
I hope you love this one as much as I do!
Serves: 12 Muffins or 1 Loaf
Ingredients
1/2c butternut squash or pureed pumpkin
4 ripe bananas
1/2c pure maple syrup
1/4c olive oil (+extra)
1/4c alternative milk
1tsp vanilla extract
1tbsp flax meal
3tbsp water
2c flour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
pinch flakey sea salt
1/2tsp cinnamon (+extra)
1/8tsp nutmeg
1/8tsp cloves
1/4tsp ginger
Optional addition of dark chocolate chips or walnuts/pecans/pumpkin seeds
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan-forced). Chop butternut squash, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with cinnamon, and roast for about 20 minutes until soft. Tip: You can roast the squash a day ahead to save time.
Grease a muffin tin or line it with muffin liners.
In a small bowl, mix the flax meal with water and set aside to thicken.
In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients and set aside.
Place all the wet ingredients (except the flax egg) into a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour the blended wet ingredients and the flax egg into the bowl of dry ingredients. Gently fold everything together with a wooden spoon until just combined. If adding mix-ins like chocolate chips, or nuts fold them in now.
Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin. (if you’ve chosen to add dark chocolate chips, I love to sprinkle a tiny bit of flakey sea salt on top) bake for 20 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
*Note if you prefer a banana loaf, you can follow this same method by lining or greasing a loaf tin and baking it in the oven for an hour. After an hour do a prick check with a toothpick to see if your loaf needs a bit longer. After baking, let rest for 10 minutes before cutting slices.
Extra Info
This recipe has been created with friends and family in mind, it can be easily adjusted to avoid intolerances like milk & egg or catered to different diets like vegan/vegetarian.
Sugar vs. Maple Syrup - pure maple syrup is a natural sweetener that offers more vitamins and minerals than white & brown sugar.
Egg vs. Flax Egg - The removal of a real egg was for intolerance purposes and has been replaced with a flax egg for added fibre and omega 3.
Milk vs. Alternative Milk - Again this was removed for intolerance purposes but the beauty of these recipes is the ability to adjust and cater to your likes & dislikes. You can swap the flax egg for a real egg or the alternative milk to dairy milk.
Don’t want pumpkin in your banana bread? - Just add another banana instead!
