Cinnamon and coconut banana bread

1 HOUR 20 MINUTES | SERVES 12 | EASY |

chia seeds 2 tbsp

wholemeal self-raising flour 220g

ground cinnamon 1 tsp

bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp

maple syrup 100g

coconut oil 80g, melted, plus extra for the tin

bananas 3, 2 mashed, 1 left whole

dairy-free milk 3 tbsp

vanilla extract 1 tsp

desiccated coconut 50g

1 Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Oil and line a 900g loaf tin.

2 Put the chia seeds in a small bowl with 75ml of water. Stir and leave to thicken for 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, bicarb and 1/2 tsp of fine sea salt.

3 Reserve 1 tbsp of the maple syrup and put the rest in a large bowl along with the oil. Whisk together. Add the chia seeds and whisk again until combined. Add the mashed bananas, milk and vanilla extract, and give it a final whisk.

4 Using a silicone spatula, fold in the flour mixture – be careful not to over-mix, a few lumps are fine. Fold in the coconut until just combined.

5 Pour the batter into the loaf tin and level it out. Thickly slice the remaining banana lengthwise and arrange on top. Brush with the remaining maple syrup then bake for 50-55 minutes. The top of the loaf should be deeply golden and a skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean. Let the bread cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then use the baking paper to lift the loaf onto a wire rack to cool before slicing.

PER SERVING 199 kcals | fat 10.1G saturates 8.1G | carbs 21.9G | sugars 8.9G fibre 3.5G | protein 3G | salt 0.4G

Nadine Brown is a recipe writer and food editor with six years of experience writing healthy recipes. There’s always an interesting, nourishing bowl of food at her table. Find her on Instagram @n0sh.17.

Omagazine.com

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