Some of you may remember that, a few days ago, I wrote that a simulataneous pro and con of being single is getting/having to eat entire batches of baked goods by yourself. I also gave you a recipe for a delicious Spiced Sesame Slice, which I cut into squares and froze for safe-keeping yet still managed to finish in the space of four days.
Well, folks, the creation below gives the sesame slice a run for its money in terms of sweet delectableness. And you know what’s more?
Goodness, this batter looks like it’s been cut off at the end of the earth/time/the world. I’m surprised I didn’t fall into an Abyss of Black Doom Nothingness when I ate the last slice.
I pulled this Date and Banana Bread out of the oven at 11:30am on Monday morning.
By 9:30am Wednesday morning, it was all gone. That’s less than 48 hours.
And that’s just how I roll.
Christening my late Aunt’s beautiful chopping board with banana bread. I hope she’d approve.
I think I’ll mention something that helps explain my high level of enthusiasm for this recipe. You see, I know banana bread is a staple for many cooks and bakers out there, and yet I’m absolutely not pulling your leg when I say I’ve never made one before. How is this possible, you might be wondering? (And even if you’re not, I’m-a-gonna-tell-ya anyway.)
Well, in my experience, every blogger who writes up a banana cake/muffin/bread recipe begins the post with words to this effect: “Today, I realised I had two over-ripe bananas on my counter, and I had to make something with them.”
A lone slice...
This has never happened to me in my life. No one in my family is particularly enamoured with bananas, and so they were never a fruit we had lying, forgotten-yet-ripening, around the house. (Apples, on the other hand, I was always finding hidden in bookcases or fallen behind the sofa*.) Very occasionally I’d want to make banana cake, but there were never bananas ripe enough at the shops for this purpose, and so I’d give up.
Lately, though, I’ve taken to buying bananas simply so they’ll get overripe and I’ll be forced to make treats.
Turns out this was an awesome ploy leading to delicious wonderment. Enjoy!
I meant to take better photos of this creation, but then it was all gone, and there was nothing left to photograph.
Deceptively Healthy Date and Banana Bread
Adapted from a free So Good promotional cookbook called “Cooking with Susie O’Neill”. (Yes, the swimmer.) The original recipe used dried figs, not dates, and made two loaves.
- 100g dried dates, chopped (the el cheapo ones – no need to get fancypants with Medjools for this recipe)
- 1 egg, lightly beaten, or 1 tb ground flax mixed with 3 tb water for the vegan version
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tb olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/4 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
- 1/2 cup soymilk
- 1 large ripe banana, mashed (mine came to about 150g)
- Preheat oven to 180°C (375°F) and line and grease a 22 x 11cm loaf tin.
- Combine dates, egg (or flax mixture), sugar, oil, cinnamon, flour, and soymilk in a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Fold through mashed bananas and pour into cake tin.
- Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden and firm. (Mine went for almost 50 minutes because someone called me at an inopportune moment. As you can see in the pictures above, the top got quite crusty. Honestly, though, I didn’t mind at all.)
- Enjoy with abandon. And then enjoy with even more abandon. I found that I liked this more straight from the fridge than warm-out-of-the-oven. The sweet moist dates, the undercurrent of subtle banana, the soft inner crumb… I can’t wait to make this again.
* Wait, no, those weren’t apples. Those were the pigs’ ears we used to give my dog as a treat. Apparently, to her, the treat was getting to play Hide The Ear#, not Eat The Ear.
# Maybe that’s what Van Gogh and Chopper were playing, and they’ve simply been woefully misunderstood by society?
{ 83 comments… read them below or add one }
yeah! awesome! and dairy free-able!
I got my Vegan Cupcakes take over the world book yesterday. I need to test things on someone…
yeah! awesome! and dairy free-able!
I got my Vegan Cupcakes take over the world book yesterday. I need to test things on someone…
yeah! awesome! and dairy free-able!
I got my Vegan Cupcakes take over the world book yesterday. I need to test things on someone…
I’m in, so long as I get to help pick the recipe
yeah! awesome! and dairy free-able!
I got my Vegan Cupcakes take over the world book yesterday. I need to test things on someone…
It looks wonderful … I guess it would work (well enough anyhow) with alternative flours.
It looks wonderful … I guess it would work (well enough anyhow) with alternative flours.
It looks wonderful … I guess it would work (well enough anyhow) with alternative flours.
I think it would certainly work with your rye flour/cornflour blend, seeing as wholemeal flour is quite dense itself. I’d also be willing to try it with the Ogran mix!
It looks wonderful … I guess it would work (well enough anyhow) with alternative flours.
Sometimes we are twins!!! Last weekend I got this sudden urge to bake banana bread – I had also never made it, but have enjoyed some wonderful ones in my time…. and some of the ‘completely shithouse god-awful horrible’ variety, so I was looking forward to trying my hand at it!
I also rarely have bananas in the house… my main fruit consumption is done at work, so I tend to opt for more portable, less-squishy fruits (LOVE YOU APPLESSSSS). And besides, bananas are the one food that give me heartburn
[hahaha this is ridonkulous… the amount of CRAP i eat that my body can handle fine.. but bananas? nope!)
ANYWAY, so I bought a few with the intention of letting them brown for my baking purposes. I was PUMPED! I was mentally combining every banana bread recipe i’ve ever read, into one SUPER RECIPE. It was gonna be amazing! It was gonna kick ass! I was gonna be so proud of myself!!!!!!
I kept the bananas in the fruit bowl, as other fruit = faster ripening process = the sooner I can make my banana bread! On Thursday morning they were ALMOST ready. I was prepping myself for Friday night baking. Oooh baby.
I got home from work on Thursday evening and….bananas? Where are you!!?
MY DAD PUT THEM ON THE GARDEN AS FERTILISER. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! D:
moral of the story: if you’re going to intentionally let fruit brown, inform the other members of your household, lest they think they are needlessly rotting
Sometimes we are twins!!! Last weekend I got this sudden urge to bake banana bread – I had also never made it, but have enjoyed some wonderful ones in my time…. and some of the ‘completely shithouse god-awful horrible’ variety, so I was looking forward to trying my hand at it!
I also rarely have bananas in the house… my main fruit consumption is done at work, so I tend to opt for more portable, less-squishy fruits (LOVE YOU APPLESSSSS). And besides, bananas are the one food that give me heartburn
[hahaha this is ridonkulous… the amount of CRAP i eat that my body can handle fine.. but bananas? nope!)
ANYWAY, so I bought a few with the intention of letting them brown for my baking purposes. I was PUMPED! I was mentally combining every banana bread recipe i’ve ever read, into one SUPER RECIPE. It was gonna be amazing! It was gonna kick ass! I was gonna be so proud of myself!!!!!!
I kept the bananas in the fruit bowl, as other fruit = faster ripening process = the sooner I can make my banana bread! On Thursday morning they were ALMOST ready. I was prepping myself for Friday night baking. Oooh baby.
I got home from work on Thursday evening and….bananas? Where are you!!?
MY DAD PUT THEM ON THE GARDEN AS FERTILISER. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! D:
moral of the story: if you’re going to intentionally let fruit brown, inform the other members of your household, lest they think they are needlessly rotting
Sometimes we are twins!!! Last weekend I got this sudden urge to bake banana bread – I had also never made it, but have enjoyed some wonderful ones in my time…. and some of the ‘completely shithouse god-awful horrible’ variety, so I was looking forward to trying my hand at it!
I also rarely have bananas in the house… my main fruit consumption is done at work, so I tend to opt for more portable, less-squishy fruits (LOVE YOU APPLESSSSS). And besides, bananas are the one food that give me heartburn
[hahaha this is ridonkulous… the amount of CRAP i eat that my body can handle fine.. but bananas? nope!)
ANYWAY, so I bought a few with the intention of letting them brown for my baking purposes. I was PUMPED! I was mentally combining every banana bread recipe i’ve ever read, into one SUPER RECIPE. It was gonna be amazing! It was gonna kick ass! I was gonna be so proud of myself!!!!!!
I kept the bananas in the fruit bowl, as other fruit = faster ripening process = the sooner I can make my banana bread! On Thursday morning they were ALMOST ready. I was prepping myself for Friday night baking. Oooh baby.
I got home from work on Thursday evening and….bananas? Where are you!!?
MY DAD PUT THEM ON THE GARDEN AS FERTILISER. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! D:
moral of the story: if you’re going to intentionally let fruit brown, inform the other members of your household, lest they think they are needlessly rotting
And what a good moral that was. Kinda like when I baked a batch of brownies and was saving the two super-big, super-gooey middle pieces for last, and I came home from a bad day at work and dad had eaten them. Sigh.
Sometimes we are twins!!! Last weekend I got this sudden urge to bake banana bread – I had also never made it, but have enjoyed some wonderful ones in my time…. and some of the ‘completely shithouse god-awful horrible’ variety, so I was looking forward to trying my hand at it!
I also rarely have bananas in the house… my main fruit consumption is done at work, so I tend to opt for more portable, less-squishy fruits (LOVE YOU APPLESSSSS). And besides, bananas are the one food that give me heartburn
[hahaha this is ridonkulous… the amount of CRAP i eat that my body can handle fine.. but bananas? nope!)
ANYWAY, so I bought a few with the intention of letting them brown for my baking purposes. I was PUMPED! I was mentally combining every banana bread recipe i’ve ever read, into one SUPER RECIPE. It was gonna be amazing! It was gonna kick ass! I was gonna be so proud of myself!!!!!!
I kept the bananas in the fruit bowl, as other fruit = faster ripening process = the sooner I can make my banana bread! On Thursday morning they were ALMOST ready. I was prepping myself for Friday night baking. Oooh baby.
I got home from work on Thursday evening and….bananas? Where are you!!?
MY DAD PUT THEM ON THE GARDEN AS FERTILISER. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! D:
moral of the story: if you’re going to intentionally let fruit brown, inform the other members of your household, lest they think they are needlessly rotting
An not a crumb to share. Tsskk, tssskkkk!
An not a crumb to share. Tsskk, tssskkkk!
An not a crumb to share. Tsskk, tssskkkk!
I’m a terrible daughter
But if you and mum ever get back from your movie, I might give you a few squares of chocolate to say thanks for letting me use your internet…
An not a crumb to share. Tsskk, tssskkkk!
Hehe… “Today, I realised I had two over-ripe bananas on my counter, and I had to make something with them.” What did I do…. Put them in the freezer….
You are an inspiration, tomorrow I will be taking said frozen banana’s from the freezer and producing me some healthy Date & Banana Bread!
Hehe… “Today, I realised I had two over-ripe bananas on my counter, and I had to make something with them.” What did I do…. Put them in the freezer….
You are an inspiration, tomorrow I will be taking said frozen banana’s from the freezer and producing me some healthy Date & Banana Bread!
Hehe… “Today, I realised I had two over-ripe bananas on my counter, and I had to make something with them.” What did I do…. Put them in the freezer….
You are an inspiration, tomorrow I will be taking said frozen banana’s from the freezer and producing me some healthy Date & Banana Bread!
Oooh, ooh, did you?? Please let me know what you think if you did end up making this
Hehe… “Today, I realised I had two over-ripe bananas on my counter, and I had to make something with them.” What did I do…. Put them in the freezer….
You are an inspiration, tomorrow I will be taking said frozen banana’s from the freezer and producing me some healthy Date & Banana Bread!
I’ve got all the components of banana muffins sitting on the counter, waiting for an appropriate time to be mixed together and find their way into the oven. Now you’re making me wish I had dates in the house to mix in…
I’ve got all the components of banana muffins sitting on the counter, waiting for an appropriate time to be mixed together and find their way into the oven. Now you’re making me wish I had dates in the house to mix in…
I’ve got all the components of banana muffins sitting on the counter, waiting for an appropriate time to be mixed together and find their way into the oven. Now you’re making me wish I had dates in the house to mix in…
I’m sure your muffins will be just as delectable date-less
I’ve got all the components of banana muffins sitting on the counter, waiting for an appropriate time to be mixed together and find their way into the oven. Now you’re making me wish I had dates in the house to mix in…
LOL you know that quote about each banana bread post starting with that is so true! That’s how I come to make all of my banana breads!
See? I knew it! And you’ve made some pretty darn good-lookin’ banana bread in your time, too
You are so right about that “two overripe bananas on the counter” line — I have read it so many times! And that bread sounds SO tasty. Unfortunately, my family has the opposite problem: We LOVE bananas, so they are gobbled up as soon as they leave the green state.
(Incidentally, after reading “Animal Vegetable Mineral,” in which the author reminds us that bananas are, indeed, an exotic fruit that requires air shipping, I’ve felt a little guilty about my banana love. Then again, after reading that book, I’ve felt guilty about my entire diet!)
Hmm, you’ve just reminded me that I forgot to finish that book after getting about 2/3rds through. Whoops! And, by extension, that I also seem to have forgotten that I’m meant to be finishing Cloudstreet. Hmm.
I think our families need to get together and balance out the banana aversion/love between us
Oh, how I love dates. Is this what that “you are what you eat” Facebook update was about? If so, I totally understand.
Hmm, that status actually came before this recipe, but I could pretend it was about it?
The reality is I’m mildly obsessed with snacking on dates and salted nuts at the moment. Salty-sweet = good-oh!
Oh, how I love dates. Is this what that “you are what you eat” Facebook update was about? If so, I totally understand.
Hmm, that status actually came before this recipe, but I could pretend it was about it?
The reality is I’m mildly obsessed with snacking on dates and salted nuts at the moment. Salty-sweet = good-oh!
looks delicious – and so little refined sugar! my mum always has bananas lying around but I don’t – although sylvia’s love hate relationship with bananas lately has changed things – I think she only likes them at a particular stage of ripeness just like me – or is that transference! But I do expect to find a half eaten apple somewhere – it has been missing for months – possibly to be found under the sofa!
My guess is by the time you find it, it won’t look much like an apple anymore?
It’s the texture of bananas that I can’t stand, which is why I can deal with them in baked goods, oatmeal, or frozen…
looks delicious – and so little refined sugar! my mum always has bananas lying around but I don’t – although sylvia’s love hate relationship with bananas lately has changed things – I think she only likes them at a particular stage of ripeness just like me – or is that transference! But I do expect to find a half eaten apple somewhere – it has been missing for months – possibly to be found under the sofa!
My guess is by the time you find it, it won’t look much like an apple anymore?
It’s the texture of bananas that I can’t stand, which is why I can deal with them in baked goods, oatmeal, or frozen…
We did used to do this with overripe bananas but I have only just discovered dates. What a treat. I’ve found that I can replace sugar in so many areas by their inclusion.
Yes, dates seem to be a common sweetener for raw desserts, but I can imagine they’d work similar magic in normal baked goods too! I definitely don’t regret switching dates for the dried figs
We did used to do this with overripe bananas but I have only just discovered dates. What a treat. I’ve found that I can replace sugar in so many areas by their inclusion.
Yes, dates seem to be a common sweetener for raw desserts, but I can imagine they’d work similar magic in normal baked goods too! I definitely don’t regret switching dates for the dried figs
Haha, you’re quite right about starting out banana bread posts by referencing overripe counter bananas. But you’re ALSO quite right that buying too many bananas and thus creating said ripe-banana-abundance is a great way of “having” to make something delicious, as this looks to be. ! <3 banana bread! The smell of it baking is one of favorite scents, quite possibly my VERY favorite, in the whole wide world.
I’m nothing if not ingenious when it comes to excuses for baking/eating sweets
Why, just this morning I simply *had* to eat half a block of coffee chocolate after breakfast, because I knew I’d need to endorphins for the morning’s doctor appointment. (I still cried, but whatevs. 
)
Crying?! Oh no! Bad news?
I hope not!
oooh awesome! I love this!!! haha I have had to buy extra bananas recently because the ones I have on the counter keep getting gobbled up by Mr BBB’s dad!!!
My family are clearly *not* the norm.
Maybe you should hide bananas down the back of the sofa, like my dog does with her treats?
I thought your post title was referring to a “deceptively healthy date” and some banana bread. I wonder what a deceptively healthy date would involve?
I have a freezer seemingly filled with overripe bananas. I’ll bring them with me when we go to Montreal and we can make banana bread there. With maple syrup.
I think it would be someone who woes you with promises of cheese platters for two every night and cream-cheese-stuffed French Toast breakfasts-in-bed every morning, but who actually ends up forcing you to get up at 5am to go for a 6k jog with them instead.
P.S. I’m so up for banana bread IN THE WORLD. (That joke will never get old.)
Aha! Get you into bed with French Toast purely so you are easy to kick out of bed so early. I’ll never fall for that trick now you’ve opened my eyes to it. Thank you Hannah, I’m not sure how I can repay you. Perhaps I can try with some chocolate cheesecake IN THE WORLD.
Conor: Call me the Dating Guru. I might even cross-stitch you a placard to hang above your bed “Beware The Man Who Lures You With French Toast, For He May Have Ulterior Motives That Are Gross”. (If you read that again, I’m pretty sure you’ll realise that it rhymes IN THE WORLD.)
Your kindness knows no bounds! Am reasonably confident that if such a French Toast wielder should come across such a thing above my bed, I won’t have to worry about him any more IN THE WORLD.
The problem is, you might also end up not having to worry about the non-French Toast wielders, and I don’t really want to scare every man away from you IN THE WORLD. (Wait. That’s no good. That makes sense. Nooo!)
Next time you need some overripe bananas, you can have some from my freezer. I must have at least 10 bananas in there. Oh, and do you want some egg whites? I have 15 egg whites stashed in the freezer.
Yes please! By the time you post them to Canberra, they should all be nicely thawed
Though I’m not sure about the egg whites… can you make meringue from defrosted egg whites, or does their structural integrity get messed up?
Next time you need some overripe bananas, you can have some from my freezer. I must have at least 10 bananas in there. Oh, and do you want some egg whites? I have 15 egg whites stashed in the freezer.
Yes please! By the time you post them to Canberra, they should all be nicely thawed
Though I’m not sure about the egg whites… can you make meringue from defrosted egg whites, or does their structural integrity get messed up?
Amber: It always is, if I’m honest, but I just have to keep truckin’ and hopefully one day I’ll have a proper toe again…
I don’t think it does – I think I’ve made meringues from defrosted egg whites before (not sure if I have now, actually!). I’m pretty sure it’s fine.
In all honesty, I’d rather you sent yourself than frozen goods
I don’t think it does – I think I’ve made meringues from defrosted egg whites before (not sure if I have now, actually!). I’m pretty sure it’s fine.
In all honesty, I’d rather you sent yourself than frozen goods
“Today, I realised I had two over-ripe bananas on my counter, and I had to make something with them.”
ah ha ha, so true. I have a friend with a freezer filled with black mushy banana just for this purpose.
Sounds like a friend worth keeping… particularly if you can convince him/her to make the banana bread for you, too…
“Today, I realised I had two over-ripe bananas on my counter, and I had to make something with them.”
ah ha ha, so true. I have a friend with a freezer filled with black mushy banana just for this purpose.
Ooo, this looks real good. I’ve got bored of the same old banana bread recipe I keep using. I have to admit that I also have to buy bananas specifically for the purpose. I buy ones specifically for my freezer and ones specifically for baking.
We are buy-foods-to-almost-waste-them Partners In Crime! I really recommend this recipe – the sweetness of the dates is really lovely
Hahaha! The problem I have is waiting until they are ripe enough ’cause I’m not good at planning in advance.
Yummo – I’m always on the lookout for another banana bread recipe and I like the idea of the dried fruit (although my preference would be the figs rather than the dates). I like the crusty outside too. I love bananas and so do my partner and little one so I’ve always got loads of bananas getting over ripe – I make banana and everything cakes, muffins etc all the time.
Do let me know how it turns out if you try it with the figs! In the past, I’ve preferred figs to dates, but dates are cheaper for my PhD budget right now…
Yummo – I’m always on the lookout for another banana bread recipe and I like the idea of the dried fruit (although my preference would be the figs rather than the dates). I like the crusty outside too. I love bananas and so do my partner and little one so I’ve always got loads of bananas getting over ripe – I make banana and everything cakes, muffins etc all the time.
Do let me know how it turns out if you try it with the figs! In the past, I’ve preferred figs to dates, but dates are cheaper for my PhD budget right now…
See? I knew it! And you’ve made some pretty darn good-lookin’ banana bread in your time, too
Hmm, you’ve just reminded me that I forgot to finish that book after getting about 2/3rds through. Whoops! And, by extension, that I also seem to have forgotten that I’m meant to be finishing Cloudstreet. Hmm.
I think our families need to get together and balance out the banana aversion/love between us
Your kindness knows no bounds! Am reasonably confident that if such a French Toast wielder should come across such a thing above my bed, I won’t have to worry about him any more IN THE WORLD.
The problem is, you might also end up not having to worry about the non-French Toast wielders, and I don’t really want to scare every man away from you IN THE WORLD. (Wait. That’s no good. That makes sense. Nooo!)
Crying?! Oh no! Bad news?
I hope not!
We are buy-foods-to-almost-waste-them Partners In Crime! I really recommend this recipe – the sweetness of the dates is really lovely
Hahaha! The problem I have is waiting until they are ripe enough ’cause I’m not good at planning in advance.
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