Banana bread with walnuts and dried apricots

This time I have for you a simple dessert recipe: banana bread with walnuts and dried apricots. Banana bread is a recipe known and made by everyone, it’s actually a loaf sweetened with bananas or a sweet bread. There are thousands and thousands of reinterpretations of the original recipe. It can be made simple without any other ingredients, but my choice was to put inside some pieces of walnuts and dried apricots. Look how beautiful these slices are, in which the apricots and the pieces of walnuts can be perfectly seen! 🙂

WHEN IS THE best MOMENT when you can make BANANA BREAD?

When you have ripe bananas, when black spots appear on their skin, which is a clear sign that they must be used immediately. I usually buy bananas already well ripe, because I don’t like the green ones. I use them either in smoothies or I cut the bananas into smaller pieces and put them in a zip plastic bag in freezer so I can use them in the future.

Because I don’t like to add sugar in desserts, I always choose to sweeten them with bananas.

It’s a super simple recipe that anyone can prepare it and I think that most of you already have all of the ingredients in your kitchen. It is very tasty, sweet enough from the bananas and the apricots that I put in the batter, so you don’t have to add sugar anymore. The walnuts are perfect because they add a crunchy part.

You can keep it for few days in the refrigerator, it can be eaten at breakfast, I usually eat it in the morning with some peanut butter and jam (try it), as a snack between meals or as a dessert.

You can cut a few slices, put them in a casserole and take it with you to school, college or work. Don’t forget to cut some extra slices for your colleagues too, they will surely like this banana bread with walnut and dried apricots! 🙂

Now let me show you how easy and quit it is to make!
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INGREDIENTS
100 gr. whole wheat flour + 100 gr. all purpose flour (or 200 gr. of one of them)
3 large, ripe bananas (about 300-320 gr.)
50 ml. milk of natural yogurt (add as much milk/yogurt as needed to get an homogeneous compotision)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla essence + 1 tablespoon of rum essence
70 gr. dried apricots
60 gr. walnuts
15 gr. baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
pinch of salt

Optional: 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, melted butter or vegetable oil

* If you don’t have dried apricots, you can replace them with raisins, cranberries, dried plums or dates. The walnut can be replaced with: almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts or can be excluded.
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PREPARATION
In a bowl put all the dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, white flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Mix.

In another bowl mash the bananas with a fork or with a potato masher. Add the eggs, the yogurt, the coconut oil and those two essences. Mix.

Cut the walnuts and the dried apricots into smaller pieces with a knife and add them in the bowl with the dry ingredients. Add the liquid ingredients over them and mix everything well with a whisk.

Put this composition into a baking loaf tray covered with baking paper. Put the tray on the preheated oven at 180°C for 35-40 minutes. Check after 35 minutes with a toothpick, if it comes out clean, banana bread is ready. If not, leave it a few more minutes.

Let it cool completely, then cut and serve with pleasure!

With love from Foodieopedia’s kitchen,

Nicole!

 

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