No the banana loaf has not had a rough night out! This recipe is a delicious combination of bananas, seeds and walnuts (optional) with the gentle sweetness of rice syrup.

It’s one of those recipes you can just throw together, no creaming or beating, and get fantastic results.

• Makes : 1 loaf (approximately 12 slices)
• Oven temp : 170C (150C fan forced)
• Cooking time : 50 to 60 minutes
• Pan size : standard loaf pan (approx. 21cm x 11cm)

Ingredients 

1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup pepitas
½ cup walnuts (optional)
¼ cup The Sugar Breakup Dextrose
1 ¼ cup (185g) self-raising wholemeal flour
¼ cup quick cook oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup The Sugar Breakup Organic Golden Rice Malt Syrup
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 ripe bananas mashed
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (for sprinkling on top)

So how simple is it?

1. Preheat oven to 170C (150C fan forced), grease and double line sides of loaf pan
2. Combine dry ingredients – sunflower seeds, pepitas, walnuts, dextrose, flour, oats and cinnamon in a bowl
3. Add wet ingredients – mashed bananas, golden rice malt syrup, olive oil and eggs to dry ingredients and stir until just combined
4. Pour mixture into prepared tin and sprinkle with sesame seeds
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer comes out with just some moist crumbs when inserted in the loaf. Turn onto wire rack to cool

This loaf smells so delicious you will struggle to wait until it cools to enjoy. As it has ripe bananas it is best eaten within a couple of days with a smear of butter or can be sliced and frozen for lunchboxes.

But wait! Don’t bananas have fructose? Sure do, there’s about 10-12 grams of fructose from the 2 bananas. But you are also getting the fibre of the bananas with additional fibre from seeds, walnuts and wholemeal flour, and you’re not going to eat the whole loaf on your own.

Need some extra help?

My loaf is cooking too quickly on the outside!

Dextrose can cook quicker than traditional sugar. Ensure your oven isn’t too hot. If the loaf is cooking too quickly turn your oven down. Also if the loaf looks cooked on the outside but not quite cooked in the middle you can turn the oven off leaving the cake inside for an extra 10 minutes until the cake is cooked in the middle. But don’t forget it!