You know the story: bananas sit in the fruit bowl until they get spotty. Then they’re transferred to the freezer where they turn a lovely shade of black and hang out for a few months. But then what? Banana bread, that’s what.
Those who’ve been experimenting with vegan baking for a while know that bananas are a great binder and eggs aren’t really required in a dish like banana bread. But if you’re looking for a bit of a lighter recipe, I’ve got a secret ingredient that’s going to up your banana bread game — and you’ve probably got some in your cupboard right now. It’s called aquafaba.
Aquafaba, a.k.a chickpea water, can be easily whipped into submission until it resembles stiff-peaked egg whites and folded into muffins and other desserts, or even baked into vegan meringues — wild, I know. All you need are a little thing called cream of tartar and an electric mixer.
I got curious about cream of tartar recently simply because it has such a strange name and such a specific use in baking. This quest for knowledge (read: five minutes spent Googling) taught me some interesting facts. Cream of tartar is also called potassium bitartrate or potassium hydrogen tartrate, and it’s actually a byproduct of wine making!
What ever this magic substance is, a little goes a long way. I highly recommend grabbing a box from the grocery store’s baking aisle to have on hand.
Other than this neat little trick, this banana bread recipe is straightforward: combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, cream together the butter and sugar in anther. Add the mashed banana and vanilla to the wet ingredients, then add then wet to the dry. Fold in the whipped aquafaba, then pour the batter into a loaf pan and bake!
You can also fold in any of your favourite additions — chopped walnuts or pecans, chocolate chips, or my personal favourite, peanut butter chips — if you’re feeling a little extra. But this banana bread is perfection warm out of the oven with a little vegan butter spread on top.
The Best Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup vegan butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 bananas)
- 3 tbsp aquafaba
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F (176° C). Lightly grease a loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the vegan butter and sugar with an electric mixer, 1-2 minutes. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla and mix about 30 seconds more.
- Add the wet ingredients (minus the aquafaba and cream of tartar) to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
- In a small bowl, add the 3 tbsp of aquafaba and 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar and whip with an electric mixer until stiff, about 5 minutes. Then, fold the whipped aquafaba into the batter until just combined, there should be no more white.
- Pour the batter into the lightly greased loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Carefully remove the banana bread from the pan and place on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes before serving.
