Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread with Walnuts + Life Updates
Hi Friends! I Know that it has been quite some time since I last wrote.. I’ve been completely swamped by the workload that accompanies first year university. I have really missed writing and creating, so I decided to take my study break tonight to write up a new (and super YUM) recipe. But first, a little update about my life recently.
In September I started my first year of BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) and I’ve been basically working non-stop since. Obviously it’s going better than my school experience last year, seeing as I am stillΒ inΒ school, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. I miss being able to write and cook all the time. I miss this blog. That being said, I have met so many wonderful people here and I do love my school, I’m just overworked and sleep deprived like any other first year student. Needless to say the Christmas (and end of semester) countdown has already startedΒ π Β This girl needs a break! Anyways, I am alive and semi-thriving haha. Here are a few pictures of some of the highlights of the last couple of months, please enjoy π
And now, back to the food. I came up with this recipe quite some time ago, but I wanted to save it for the perfect occasion. Now that we’re well into November I think it is fair to say that we could all use a little bit of cheering up right? I know I could! November is my least favourite month of the year by far (April being the second worst). I hate how early it gets dark and the weather is atrocious. It’s not quite winter yet, but it also isn’t really fall anymore, it’s just a gross transition between the seasons. So that’s my rant about November. Gross times of the year such as this make for a perfect opportunity to curl up with a hot cup of tea and a slice of warm, homemade banana bread.
I love the way that this bread looks with the chocolate swirl, it’s so fun! Plus, the walnuts inside add a really nice bit of crunch to the otherwise super moist loaf. So, if you’re feeling the November blues like I am, then try this banana bread on for size and see if it can help brighten your day.
Until next time!
xx
Ashley
Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread with Walnuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds, ground
- 4 ripe bananas
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 cup buckwheat flour*
- 1 cup almond meal*
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour*
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 2/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ΒΊF. Grease and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Measure out the almond milk then stir in the lemon juice, set aside.
- Place the ground chia seeds into a small bowl and add 6 tablespoons of water. Use a for to whisk until combined. Set this mixture aside to form a gel, this will take 5-10 minutes.
- Add the almond milk mixture, bananas, vanilla, maple syrup, and oil to a blender. Blend until completely smooth. Add in the gelled chia mix and blend once more.
- In a medium bow,l combine the flours, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Pour in the wet mixture and use a baking spatula to mix.
- Measure out one cup of the batter and add it back to the blender. Add the cacao powder and blend until combined fully. You may need to scrape down the sides of the blender a few times before you reach this stage.
- Fold the chopped walnuts into the original mixture (not the chocolate one). pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Pour the chocolate batter on top and use a sharp knife to swirl it into the other batter.
- Pop the pan into the oven and bake for approximately one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Allow the loaf to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before transferring it to a cooling wrack.