Cranberry, White Chocolate and Banana bread
This bread is like a gesture of kindness and calm on a gloomy day…the fact that it’s a healthy bake makes it such a charm in the kitchen!
Well to start with, I had like loads and loads of cranberries in my freezer and the other plastic containers. Something had to be done about them, the weekend was around the corner and I just thought to myself – let’s make it a cranberry weekend!
Bread is such a delight – just have it as it is or spread your favorite butter, or any other spread – it just tends to give you better days. I had bananas in my fruits basket and I thought why not a combination of cranberries and bananas? Ahhh…I saw chia seeds too that I hadn’t consumed since long…Sometimes all the things that have been lying in your kitchen for a long time tend to give you the best recipe and this was one of them.
Cranberries actually belong to the genes of blueberries. They are said to help with bladder infections, but this doesn’t seem to be scientifically proven. This doesn’t mean that they aren’t healthy, because cranberries contain about 13 g of vitamin C per 100 g, a lot of vitamin A and antioxidants. The cranberry is a good natural source of potassium, sodium, and magnesium, with copper and manganese added. You can use fresh cranberries or dried cranberries here- anything you would want to!
In fact, everything that goes here – be it bananas or chia seeds, add their own good value and flavor to this bread.
The sun shined bright as I whisked all the ingredients together to bake this gorgeous bread…it was as if God was giving me a sign that the result is going to be worth the effort…and well, it was. After a few minutes, I had a moist, mildly sweet bread with a crunchy top, and the cranberries sleeping in it like still waters in the mountains ….!
The melted white chocolate and a few sliced fresh cranberries over the loaf gave me the perfect weekend shot!
RECIPE
This moist loaf is packed with the zesty taste of cranberries and the addictiveness of bananas. Try serving the slices toasted with butter or cream cheese or just plain…this awesome bake is going to occupy a permanent place on your dining table!
Ingredients:
2tbsp chia seeds + 5tbsp water
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup sparkling water
1/2 cup plant based milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup oil
2-1/b cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cranberries
10 gms vegan white chocolate
1 pinch of salt
Method:
- Mix chia seeds and water and let soak for 5-10 minutes. Squash the bananas with a fork or blend with a mixer.
- Mix water, milk, and bananas. Add the soaked chia seeds.
- Melt the coconut oil in case it’s solid and add it to the mixture. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla and salt and mix well. Stir in the apple cider vinegar.
- Roughly chop cranberries and chocolate and fold them in with a spoon.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F).
- Grease and flour a loaf pan, put the dough inside and coat it with some chopped cranberries and possibly a halved banana.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes – check with a stick to make sure the dough is definitely well done.
