Cooking With Kids is a weekly recipe series on getting creative in the kitchen with the family.
You might have already made your bodyweight in banana bread this year, but we think you may have room for one more – especially since this delectable treat is vegan.
Daniel Watkins, former head chef at London restaurant St. Leonard’s, who’s currently doing a pop-up residency at London Fields Courtyard, teaches us how to make the ultimate banana bread recipe, but this version uses no dairy, eggs or flour – perfect for ingredient swaps when you don’t have much lying around.
“Both of my children have autism and after looking into ways in which we as parents could support them, we learnt how food can change and help behaviour and wellbeing,” he explains.
“We made changes to our family diet, eating habits and routine so we could help both our children and ourselves. Keeping to a plant-based, gluten-free diet and staying away from sugars improved things dramatically. The addition of the nuts and seeds in this recipe adds a great nutritional value to the bread plus the crunch texture it adds is very satisfying.”
Aside from teaching them the importance of eating right, this is a great introductory recipe for kids that shows them how to measure everything out so they can begin to see the exact process and importance of accuracy when baking.
“It’s also quite a forgiving recipe if the measurements are off and easy enough for you to make while holding their attention,” Watkins says. “My kids love it for the simple reason that it’s sweet! But they also have the added satisfaction of knowing that most of the ingredients are actually good for you and cuts out most of the rubbish found in other sweet treats.”
Banana bread, burnt honey and seeds
Serves: 4 – 6 people | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 40-45 mins
Ingredients:
300g oats
3 very ripe bananas
120ml aquafaba (chickpea water)
1 teaspoon baking powder
Good pinch of cinnamon
40g sugar (soft dark brown)
30g coconut oil
Pinch of sea salt
Nuts and seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and hazelnuts)
1-2 tbsp of honey
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 170C/360F/Gas Mark 3.
2. In the food processor blend oats until you’re left with a fine powder.
3. Get your kids to help by letting them peel and smash the bananas .
4. Add in the rest of your ingredients to the blender and blend until well combined and creamy. You should have a sticky thick batter.
5. Place into a cast iron dish with baking parchment, or a non-stick baking tin and bake for approx. 30 – 40 minutes or until golden. This usually depends on the size of your dish so make sure to keep an eye on it.
6. While the mix is baking, lightly toast some of the seeds until golden. This can be done in the oven or on the stove.
7. Once your seeds are toasted, add a couple of tablespoons of honey to a thick bottom pan and place over a medium heat. You will see the colour change as the honey starts to caramelise. Set aside ready to pour over the bread.
8. Finish with a good handful of toasted nuts, seeds, and burnt honey. Allow to cool and then serve.