Baking is one of life’s most simple pleasures. Yes, it’s vastly different from cooking but there’s something always magical about sticking the right measurements of ingredients into a tin, sticking it in the oven and then watching it rise and fill the house with delicious smells.

This recipe is one that I found originally during Veganuary and has overtaken my original non-vegan banana bread recipe – it’s that good. It doesn’t take long to prepare, only uses 1 bowl and tastes delicious every time. I’ve found that ground flaxseed here are the best egg alternative but whole golden linseed or chia seeds work well too.

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas (For me, the browner the better as it makes the bread sweeter)
2 tbsp ground flax
6 tbsp water
5 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
8 tbsp demerara sugar plus extra for sprinkling on top
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
Optional: Dark chocolate chips/nuts/seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 175C. Get your loaf tin ready; I use loaf tin liners or you can grease with butter and lightly dust with plain flour to prevent sticking.

2. Get your flax “egg” ready by getting a mug, adding in the flax and mixing with water. Set aside but leave to sit for at least 5 minutes to get a little thicker.

3. Put your bananas in your mixing bowl and mash them up. Mix in the oil, sugar and vanilla.

4. Pour in your flax “egg” and stir into the mixture. Sift in your flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda along with the cinnamon and salt. Gently stir to combine everything but don’t overmix it.

5. If you’re adding in any extras like nuts, seeds or chocolate then this is the point to do it. Pecan nuts work well here. I also love using dark chocolate chips for ease but alternatively, you can finely chop up 75-100g of dark chocolate. No judgement on how much chocolate you use here but you may find that your mix gets a little dry. If it does, add in a splash of milk (any plant-based milk works).

6. Pour into the tin and sprinkle with demerara sugar for a delicious sugary crust.

7. Bake for 50 minutes but always check with a toothpick/skewer that it comes out clean. If it doesn’t, put it back in the oven for an extra 5 minutes.

8. Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

9. Slice up and enjoy!