Pumpkin Coconut And Walnut Bread

There was a spare tin of pumpkin purée in my cupboards from when I had made a pumpkin pie for my dad last Christmas, I also had left over nuts from various other things I had baked so I went about searching for a recipe that would use up both.  I came across the recipe for this bread and decided to try it out and wow, is it yummy!  Delicious warm and cold.

Ingredients:

450g plain flour

440g soft dark brown sugar

135g caster sugar

425g pumpkin purée (canned or home made)

250ml vegetable oil

150ml coconut milk

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

60g desiccated coconut

115g walnuts, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas Mark 4.

Grease and flour 2 loaf tins.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, pumpkin, oil, coconut milk, baking soda, salt and spices.  When all ingredients are well mixed, fold in the coconut and walnuts.  Pour half the batter into each loaf tin.  Bake for approximately 60 minutes, or until a cake tester or tooth pick comes out clean when inserted.  Remove from the oven and cover with foil to steam for 10 minutes.  Remove foil and turn out onto a cooling rack, place the foil over the bread again, loosely this time, and allow to cool completely.

Banana Bread with Coconut and Pecans

I had bananas left over from the vegan banana bread I made recently so I wanted to try out a new banana bread recipe I had come across.

Ingredients:

3 cups plain flour

11/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup canola oil (I used coconut oil)

11/2 cups sugar

3 eggs, beaten

11/2 tsp vanilla extract

11/2 cups bananas, mashed

3/4 cup sour cream (I used plain yoghurt)

11/2 cups chopped pecans, toasted

3/4 cup desiccated coconut

Preheat oven 180°C (350°F) Gas Mark 4

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  In a large bowl, beat together the oil and sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Add the bananas and sour cream and beat well.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until everything is just combined.  Stir in the pecans and coconut.  Pour batter into greased loaf tin until it is half full (I got 2 banana bread loaves from one batch).  Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the loaf.  Allow to cool for at least an hour before removing it from the pan and serving.  Tastes great plain, or with a little bit of butter.

To toast pecans: place nuts on a baking tray and heat in the oven (180°C/ 350°F/ Gas Mark 4) for 15 minutes or until light brown and fragrant.

Banana Bread (Vegan, Gluten Free, Wheat Free, Sugar Free)

Everything I have ever baked has been full of eggs, butter, milk etc.  I have wanted to try out vegan recipes as well as gluten free/ wheat free for a long time so I got myself some recipes and sourced ingredients for them.  I have always loved banana bread so when I saw this I knew it would have to be one of the first things I tried out.  I have to say, for somebody who has always been a little wary of gluten free baking, it was pretty darn good!

Ingredients:

300g Doves Farm plain white gluten-free flour (available in Tesco)

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp xanthan gum (available in Tesco)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

125ml coconut oil [melt the oil before measuring], plus more for the tin (available in Holland & Barratt)

150ml agave nectar (available in Holland & Barratt)

150ml rice milk (available in Tesco and Holland & Barratt)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (I got mine on eBay)

6 medium bananas, mashed

Preheat oven 170°C (325°F) Gas Mark 3

Lightly grease the loaf tin with some coconut oil.

In a bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and cinnamon.  Add the coconut oil, agave nectar, rice milk and vanilla to your dry ingredients and mix until smooth.  Using a spatula fold in your mashed bananas until they are evenly distributed in the mixture.  Fill the loaf tin halfway with your mixture.  Bake in the centre of the oven for 35 minutes, rotating it 180 degrees after 20 minutes.  When the banana bread it ready it will bounce back when pressed and a cake tester/ toothpick will come out clean when inserted.  Let the banana bread cool for about 20 minutes.  After the 20 minutes, run a knife along the edges to loosen.  Cover the loaf tin with a cutting board and turn out onto the board.  Get another cutting board and carefully turn the banana bread onto it so that it is right side up once again.  Can be eaten warm or cooled and stored for up to 3 days at room temperature, in cling film.