Cocoa Walnut Pecan Banada Bread (No Sugar Added)
(Recipe by @Andria.Cooks on Instagram)
I love banana bread and I have a couple of amazing recipes but I’ve been on a processed sugar detox of late and have been really craving it. What better way to satisfy a craving than to create a sugar free version of one of my favorite recipes! This is perectly sweetened using organic dates and over ripe bananas as my sugar subsitute. I added bananas like I normally would, I added unsweetned cocao for that rich chocolate flavour, and for extra moisture, I added 1/2 cup of 0% fat plain greek yogurt. It’s high in protein and really balances all the flavours really well!
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! If you really love it sweet, add more dates than the recipe calls for, when it bakes, it has a natural caramel taste! If you make it, let me know how it turns out!
INGREDIENTS: ½ cup of organic butter melted
Sugar Subsitute: 7 Organic dates pitted and chopped & 2 extra ripe medium organic bananas (Add more dates if you like it sweeter)
2 Eggs
1 tsp organic Madagascar vanilla extract (or vanilla extract)
3 medium ripe organic bananas
¼ tsp of organic cinnamon
1 ¼ cups organic all purpose flour
¼ cup organic unseated cocoa
1 tsp organic baking soda
½ tsp pink Himalayan salt (or sea salt)
½ cup 0% Organic plain greek yogurt
¼ cup chopped organic walnuts
¼ cup chopped organic pecans
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (grease loaf pan or add parchment Paper)
Cut open the dates and remove the pit and then add to a mini chopper. Chop until the dates are fine like a paste. Add in the 2 ripe banans and continue to chop until it’s all blended (This makes approx 1 cup - which is a 1 to 1 replacement for the sugar).
In a stand mixer, add 1/2 cup of melted melted butter and the date/banana mixture and blend with a paddle attachment until smooth. Add eggs one at a time and mix on low speed until blended and lastly add the vanilla extract and give it last mix until combined.
In a seperate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and I alwasy sift it all together so it’s mixed but also adds air and it makes cakes light and fluffy! Slowly add it to the wet mixture and mix on low speed until smooth. Add the Smashed up the bananas and mix until combined (don’t over mix, you still want some chunks of bananas in there)
Remove from stand and fold the 1/2 cup of greek yogurt and add the chopped walnuts and pecans and then spread evenly into lined loaf pan. Add a few crushed walnuts and pecans to the top before placing it in the oven for a nice texture on the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 60 mins. Check the centre with a tooth pick and if it comes out clean, it’s ready. Cool in loaf pan for 10 mins before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!