Plantain Bread

Move over banana bread and say hello to some plantain bread. That's right, it's tasty, soft with the right amount of moisture. Made from almond flour and cassava flour making it grain and gluten free with a vegan option.

Course Baked goods

Cuisine Caribbean

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 20

Servings people

Calories 222kcal

Author Charla

Ingredients

2-3 overripe plantain(s) must be 1¼ cups (270g) in total
2 large eggs (2 flax eggs)
¼ cup coconut oil (60ml)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4g)
2 cups almond flour (210g)
½ cup cassava flour (50g)(tapioca or arrowroot starch works too)
2-4 tablespoon coconut sugar (25g-50g) raw cane sugar works too
1 teaspoon mixed spice (2g) see notes
¼ teaspoon pink salt (1.5g)
1 teaspoon baking soda (4g)
1 tablespoon apple cidar vinegar (15g)(only use for the vegan version)

For the topping

1 ripe plantain

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 356F/180C/Gas mark 4.
Line a loaf pan with a liner and set aside.
Place the plantain in a large bowl and use a fork, masher or stand mixer to break down the plantain so that it is completely mashed.
Once mashed, add all of the wet ingredients to the bowl - eggs (flax eggs), vanilla, and coconut oil.
Now add the dry ingredients - almond flour, coconut/cane sugar (start with 2 tablespoons), mixed spice, pink salt, cassava flour and the baking soda and apple cidar vinegar if making the vegan version.
Mix for about 30 seconds, so all of the ingredients are combined to form a smooth batter consistency.
Before you add the batter to the pan, do a taste test to make sure you are happy with the sweetness and stir in more sugar if needed.
Spoon the batter into the lined loaf pan.
Peel and halve a plantain and place on top of the batter, carefully pushing downwards until the slices are embedded into the batter (you don't need to go too deep).
Bake for roughly 50 minutes or until a knife or tooth prick/skewer comes out clean to determine its readiness.
Half way through the baking time you may notice your bread may brown too much (each oven varies) if that is the case, cover the top securely with aluminium foil.
Once the bread is done, remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
Remove the bread from the loaf pan/liner and transfer to completely cool on a cooling rack.
Leave the bread to cool for several hours or overnight if you are making the vegan version (for best results) before slicing it with a serrated (jagged edge) knife.

Notes

For best results, use overripe plantain (black outer skin with very little or no yellow spots).
Use a serrated knife (knife with jagged edges) to slice the bread as it reduces the chance of it crumbling/falling apart.
Only use the apple cidar vinegar in the VEGAN VERSION!
Slice the bread when it is cold or has completely cooled down (this prevents crumbling/falling apart).
Here is the recipe link on How to Make a Flax Egg.
If you make the recipe with the plantain on top, any leftover bread should be wrapped up and refrigerated for up to 24hours.
Any leftover bread should be stored in an air tight container for up to 2 days (only if you don't have the plantain decor on top.
You can use another light/neutral tasting oil instead such as olive oil or grapeseed.
You will need ALMOND FLOUR for this recipe NOT ALMOND MEAL (The 2 are NOT the same).
You can use arrowroot or tapioca starch instead of cassava flour.
If you don't have mixed spice, use ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and ½ teaspoon of nutmeg instead.
The amount of sweetener that you use, if you need to will depend on the ripeness of the plantain. If your plantain has more yellow spots of the outside, be prepared to use around ¼ cup of sugar.
I have only tested the recipe with raw cane sugar and coconut sugar, so use a granulated form of sweetener if you need to.
It is best to eat the bread within the first few days (It doesn't last very long in our house and I haven't tested how freezer friendly the recipe is)

Nutrition