Pecan banana bread
Serves: 10
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Maja Smend
Pecan banana bread
‘This simple banana bread has the most spectacular caramel flavour thanks to the coconut sugar, which pairs beautifully with the toasted pecans. It’s deliciously moist and soft, and you really can’t tell that it’s gluten-free!’ says Katarina
Serves: 10
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
387Kcal
Fat
19gr
Saturates
8gr
Carbs
50gr
Sugars
27gr
Fibre
1gr
Protein
3gr
Salt
1.1gr
Katarina Cermelj
Food writer and photographer Katarina Cermelj has a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry and uses science to develop sumptuous allergy-friendly recipes that she shares on her blog, The Loopy Whisk,and in her cookbook Baked to Perfection: Delicious Gluten-free Recipes With a Pinch of Science (Bloomsbury, £22)
See more of Katarina Cermelj ’s recipes
Katarina Cermelj
Food writer and photographer Katarina Cermelj has a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry and uses science to develop sumptuous allergy-friendly recipes that she shares on her blog, The Loopy Whisk,and in her cookbook Baked to Perfection: Delicious Gluten-free Recipes With a Pinch of Science (Bloomsbury, £22)
See more of Katarina Cermelj ’s recipes
Ingredients
- 100g pecans
- 4-5 ripe medium bananas (450g peeled weight)
- 1 1⁄2 tbsp lemon juice
- 115g butter, melted and cooled, plus extra to grease
- 150g coconut sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 275g gluten-free plain flour
- 1 1⁄2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 3⁄4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1⁄2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1⁄2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1⁄4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 75g dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (about 80% cocoa solids, or sugar-free)
Step by step
To store
Keep the banana bread for up to 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. It can also be frozen in slices.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4 and line a 900g loaf tin (about 9cm x 20cm on the base) with baking paper. Toast the pecans on a baking tray in the oven for about 5 minutes, then cool and roughly chop. Mash the bananas with the lemon juice.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas until combined.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarb, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg then add this to the wet ingredients. Whisk well until you get a smooth batter.
- Mix through most of the chopped pecans and chocolate then transfer the batter to the lined tin and smooth out the top. Sprinkle the rest of the pecans and chocolate on top of the batter.
- Bake for about 1 hour, or until well risen, golden brown on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with just a few stray crumbs attached. If the top is browning too quickly, cover with foil (shiny-side up) after 40 minutes.
- Cool the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool further. Serve warm or at room temperature.
