Vegan Banana Nut Bread

In the recent weeks there hasnt been a situation of over ripe bananas in our house. But last week we went on a camping trip to Arkansas where I had carried a bunch of bananas but half a dozen remained uneaten given the variety of food we had there. We were an enthusiastic group making upma and bhelpuri among other delectables, at the camp. It was a lovely time beside the river. The river itself was shallow at the camp site and there were innumerable small size fishes swimming around our legs. The whole gang enjoyed playing in the water and swimming with the fishes.

By the time we came back home, due to the heat, the bananas were all over ripe and I had to find a way to use them without throwing out the whole lot. I mentioned banana bread and to my surprise my daughter was overjoyed. I have no idea what caused the change of heart in the non-sweet eater but I wasnt going to let this chance get away. I baked the bread that very night and as is always the case with banana baked goods, it came out very well. We all enjoyed a healthy dessert that night and it lasted well for the next four days with refreidgeration.

Vegan Banana Nut Bread

Servings: One 4*8 loaf
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 35 - 45 mins

Ingredients

4 very ripe bananas
1 cup Whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup All purpose flour
1/2 cup Vegetable oil
1/2 cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup nuts (walnuts, almonds)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Grease a 4*8 loaf tin with a little oil or line it with parchment paper
3. Mash the bananas to fine and add in oil and sugar and mix well. Add in the vanilla extract and mix well.
4. Sieve the flours, baking soda and baking powder and mix well and keep aside
5. Add salt to the flour and mix well
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix till it comes together. Do not overmix.
7. Fold in the nuts
8. Pour the mix into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 35 - 45 mins till a skewer inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. (My oven took 45 mins)
9. Slice it up and serve warm.
10. It also tastes good as a base to a trifle or with ice-cream.

Vegan Jewish Apple Cake

Home Bakers Challenge presented a very interesting recipe of apple cake and it was to be Jewish. At the outset, the recipe did not present anything "different" to classify it as Jewish and I was intrigued. After going through a lot of forums, I gleaned that one of the rules of Kashrut (Jewish Dietary law) upon which Kosher foods are based, is that Meat and Dairy should not be mixed at a meal. This might explain why this cake is called so because it uses oil instead of butter and does not use any milk in it.

In my drive to make it Egg free, I have substituted the eggs simply with Ener-G replacer.
I have also substituted half the fat with applesauce making this a very healthy recipe. The cake keeps well in the refridgerator, in an air tight container, for atleast a week from personal experience.
I was overstocked with apples left over from a fruit salad made for a pot-luck, languishing in the fridge till this challenge came along to rescue them!

Vegan Jewish Apple Cake

Servings: 1 9-inch cake
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time:

Ingredients

3-4 Medium sized Apples (I used Jonathan but granny smith or honey crisp should work very well too)
3 cups All Purpose Flour
2 tbsp Ener-G replacer + 8 tbs Warm Water (replaces 4 eggs)
1 1/2 cup Sugar (I used 1 cup since the apples were sweet)
2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder (If double acting baking powder use half the quantity)
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Oil
1/2 Cup Applesauce
1/4 tsp Cup Orange Juice (Tropicana works fine)
2 tsp Vanilla Essence

2 tsp Cinnamon
3 tbsp Confectioner's (Fine) Sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment
3. Combine 2 tsp cinnamon and 3 tbsp of fine Sugar and keep aside
4. Peel, core and cut the apples into 1-inch pieces. I made the pieces smaller because my family wouldnt enjoy biting into soft big pieces of apple. 
5. If cutting the apple before hand, drizzle 2 tsp of Lemon juice on coat the pieces with it. This will prevent browning.
6. Prepare the egg replacer as per instructions on the product. If using Ener-G then pour the powder in the warm water and stir till well combined. It should become creamy after mixing. Keep aside
7. 
   
8. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a container.
9. Mix together the oil, applesauce. orange juice, egg replacer mix and vanilla essence.
10. Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix till just combined. 
11. Pour half the batter into the prepared cake pan. Top with 1/2 the apple pieces and sprinkle half the cinnamon-sugar mixture on it.
12. Pour the rest of the batter into the pan and top with the remaining apple pieces and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture on it.
13. Bake at 350 F for 60-80 minutes.