Almond, Banana and Coconut Loaf with Dark Chocolate

, from Issue #68. September, 2016
Photography by Aaron McLean.
Almond, Banana and Coconut Loaf with Dark Chocolate

Wanting to use up the pulp from making almond milk and with a growing stock pile of over-ripe bananas in my freezer, this recipe ticked all the boxes. Dense and moist with little pockets of dark chocolate, it’s a gorgeous accompaniment to a glass of chilled almond milk. 

INGREDIENTS

2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 5 medium)
4 large eggs, size 7
¼ cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups almond pulp
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon baking soda, sifted
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
100 grams dark chocolate, roughly chopped (62% cocoa)
¼ cup shredded coconut icing sugar, for dusting 

METHOD

Grease a 6-cup capacity loaf tin and line fully with baking paper. My tin is 12cm x 22cm and 7cm deep.

Preheat the oven to 150°C fan bake.

Combine the bananas, eggs, butter and vanilla in a bowl.

Put the almond pulp, coconut, brown sugar, chia seeds, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in another large bowl and combine well, making sure there are no lumps.

Add the banana mixture and fold everything together then stir in the chocolate. Pour into the tin and scatter over the shredded coconut.

Bake for 40 minutes then loosely cover the top with foil to prevent it over-browning and bake for a further 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin.

To serve: Cut into thick slices and serve dusted with icing sugar. 

Cook's tip: The almond pulp needs to be quite dry before using in this loaf recipe. After making the milk, place it in a clean tea towel and squeeze it tightly to remove any remaining liquid.