This recipe is the first vegan baking recipe I ever developed. I remember making it around 15 years ago for a vegan restaurant-owning friend of mine, much to his delight. Somewhere, sometime in my past (I can’t recall where), I learned about flax gel and I have to say, this is the only recipe I’ve ever used it in (note to self: must experiment more!). To make flax gel you boil 2 cups of water with 2 tbsp of flax seeds for 10-20 minutes until it’s thick and gloopy and looks a bit like egg white. Strain the seeds out and use 1/2 cup of the gel as a replacement for one egg in recipes calling for no more than two eggs (1 cup flax gel per recipe, maximum).
I usually make this banana bread with caster sugar, but this time I thought I’d experiment with palm sugar (gula jawa) instead. My, what a fabulously fudgy flavour the palm sugar gives the cake! Palm sugar (not to be confused with coconut palm sugar) is supposed to be a healthier natural alternative to refined cane sugars and has a lower glycemic index, releasing energy slowly. Since it’s unrefined it contains plenty of vital minerals and nutrients and it imparts a fabulous caramel/butterscotch flavour to baking. Use it, measure for measure, to replace refined sugar in recipes. I found that the sugar was quite hard and moist, needing bashing up in a mortar and pestle before it could be used in the recipe. It’s shape is rather unusual too; reminiscent of those rock core samples I used to find at various sites in the woods back in Cape Breton, Canada.
This is a very nutritious alternative to traditional banana bread, and it’s a great way to use up any leftover frozen bananas you may have taking up space in your freezer. It makes excellent hill-walking fodder, even in January in Shetland!
- 3/4 cups palm sugar
- 1/2 cup flax gel
- 4 tbsp lemon prune honey butter (or other concentrated 100% fruit puree)
- 1 1/4 cups plain white flour
- 1/4 cup wheatgerm
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 mashed bananas
- pinch salt
- 1/4 cup almonds, chopped or slivered
- 1/2 cup sultanas
- 1 tbsp ground almonds
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 1 loaf
I have entered this recipe in Javelin Warrior’s Made with Love, Mondays food round-up of made-from-scratch recipes.
Vegan Chocolate Truffles (Sugar Free)
I would usually steer clear of vegan cakes but this one looks and sounds fantastic – I’ll definitely give this a go as soon as I track down some palm sugar!
It works well with caster sugar too, which is how I usually make it. The palm sugar was just a successful experiment. 🙂
What a great recipe and really interesting ingredients…I don’t think I’ve baked anything vegan before! Love the picture on the rock too 🙂
I’m not very experienced with vegan baking either – but I do like to try. The picture on the rock was hastily snapped as we were rushing back to the car to escape the horrible wind and rain that had started up! Sooo cold!
I love the use of palm sugar, Elizabeth, and I’d never head of it before. Now I’m going to have to research this and look for it locally to give it a try. This banana bread looks tasty and the use of flax gel to replace the egg whites is cool… Thanks so much for sharing!
I’d never heard of it before I trialed a refined sugar free diet back in November (I didn’t last long). I’d read about coconut sugar & palm sugar and went to the local wholefood shop to get some. I asked for palm sugar and they brought this unusual lump of brown out from the back room for me. I love trying new things 🙂
I don’t think that Palm Sugar is going to win any beauty awards but your bread sure looks good.
Thanks 🙂 I thought it was quite pretty, to be honest, in an exotic, unusual sort of way (I thought the rock core samples were pretty too, when I used to find them!)