Yes, we have devised a gluten free, vegan, nut free, soy free banana bread recipe for you! We are absolutely BANANAS about bananas, so we're happy we can share this with you! It's made with organic coconut sugar and organic coconut oil, and when we make it we always love to add ripe bananas grown locally here in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, in this wonderful chunk of land we call Australia. It's perfect for all you sunshine coast vegan people, plus anyone else on this planet. 

This recipe is simple, easy, and wonderfully moist and full of flavour. We also add fresh organic cinnamon which really helps give this banana bread recipe that extra layer of flavour to excite your taste buds. 

Do not be overwhelmed by this recipe as it's pretty straightforward. Just make sure to mash the bananas well, and to mix the batter really well, preferably in a stand mixer. BUT if you don't have one, you can always use those massive muscles you have to stir it really well with a spoon and spatula. The better incorporated the mixture, the better the banana bread will rise and the more perfect the texture will be. 

Let's start you off with some pictures so you get an idea of the process. Then we'll finish off with the equipment you'll need (basic stuff) and the mind blowingly scrumptious recipe.

Mash those bananas by hand, or blend them in a food processor if you have one. Make sure they are ripe or even VERY ripe (eg. spotty skin). The riper they are, the more sweet the banana bread. 

Next add the dry ingredients together and whisk them well. 

Now combine the mashed banana and oil & water to the dry mixture

Mix on high in your stand mixer for 1-2 minutes, or until it is really well incorporated. Then scoop the mixture into a 9x5 greased loaf pan and whack that sucker in a preheated oven at 170 degrees celsius for approx. 1 hour. Then VOILA!!! You have zee wonderful banana loaf to put in your belly and the belly of your loved ones. How wonderful it is to be alive, and how wonderful it is to celebrate this life with freshly baked food. 

Equipment: Oven, measuring cups, measuring spoons, whisk, stand mixer (or bowl and muscles), 9x5 loaf pan (or similar size.

baking time: 1 hour @ 170 degrees celsius

Ingredients:

Dry mixture: 
400g Soul Kitchen GF flour mix
1 cup regular sugar (or 1.5 cups coconut sugar. Coconut sugar is lighter and less sweet, so more is needed)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Wet mixture:
380 grams mashed ripe bananas
2/3 cup of oil (coconut or other oil of your choice)
1/4 cup coconut cream
1/4 cup water

Directions:  Add all of the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk until well incorporated. Then add your wet ingredients and mix VERY well until well incorporated. 

Pour the batter into a greased 9x5 loaf pan, or similar size. Bake for approx. 1 hour at 170 degrees celsius. Use a skewer to test if the banana bread is ready after 1 hour. If the skewer doesn't come out clean, bake for another 3-5 mins, and then test it again. 

Proceed to cut the banana bread and enjoy a slice (best warm and toasty!) with your favourite spread!

Silky smooth rich delicious chocolate ganache that no one will believe is completely vegan! And the best part is how easy it is to make, with only 3 ingredients. I love this stuff and find it hard to resist not licking the entire bowl. 

It can be used as a dipping sauce, poured over desserts, used as a frosting for cakes (pictured is our gluten free vegan mini rocky road mud cake covered in ganache and topped with marshmallows, cherries and peanuts) or wherever your imagination takes you!

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup coconut cream (the full fat kind, preferably at least 98% pure coconut cream)
1/4 cup cocoa powder*
1/4 cup coconut sugar

Whisk all ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium heat and continue stirring for about 1-2 minutes until thickened slightly. Allow to cool before using. 

And that's it! So simple and easy. It will harden more over time and after being refrigerated. 

*For the cocoa powder, it is best to use a dark roasted one as opposed to raw cacao powder. We generally do prefer raw cacao for it's health benefits and use it in all our baking, but for this recipe we opted for the roasted kind. This will give it a much richer, deeper chocolate flavour. 

Enjoy!

I buy this fresh spirulina from the Kawana Markets in Birtinya, in the Sunshine Coast QLD. It's one of the better markets on the Sunshine Coast as there are some great stalls selling organic fruits and veggies, and it generally has a really overall healthy vibe to it. Unlike the dried products that you find on shelves in health food stores, this fresh spirulina doesn't have any odor, indicating its complete freshness. Apparently spirulina should never have that fishy smell if it truly is fresh. If you have ever tried powdered spirulina from a jar you'll definitely notice that stale fish smell, which isn't pleasant. This fresh spirulina must be kept frozen before you consume it, but all you need to do when you want to consume it is throw it frozen into your fruit and veg smoothie, blend it up, and drink it down. It makes your smoothie a beautiful, deep green colour, adding to the pleasure even further.

The health benefits of spirulina are numerous; it detoxes heavy metals, eliminates candida, lowers blood pressure, is great for vegans as it contains iron, and it's composed of 60-70% protein. It also has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. So just imagine having this superfood freshly grown and not in a powdered and processed form like other products on the market? If only all superfood options could be grown virtually in your own backyard, how exciting would that be?

If you speak to the grower of this spirulina at the Kawana Markets he'll tell you all of the growing techniques he utilises on his farm just north of Brisbane. He's a marine biologist so he clearly understands algae and how it works. This indicates to me that it's definitely a trustworthy product. The price is reasonable and you'll feel good about supporting a local grower. We all need to support our local growers as they are the ones keeping our health in check. 

Hello world! We are Soul Kitchen Bakery, Queensland's #1 gluten free vegan bakery located in the Sunshine Coast. All of our baked goods and savouries are naturally dairy free, gluten free, egg free, additive free and completely vegan. We started this journey over 10 years ago when we realised that we needed to cut gluten out of our diet as it wasn't sitting well in our tummies. Dairy was also an issue, so we kicked that to the curb as well. At this point it only seemed fitting to go completely vegan, so that's what we did! Are we now deficient in calcium, B12 and iron?! Hello no! And we feel good! Listening to your own body still counts for something in this world, right?

In the beginning, it was hard finding really good gluten free vegan recipes for baked goods, so we spent many painstaking hours in the kitchen experimenting like mentally deranged mad scientists, and tweaking our recipes to find that perfect outcome. There were many failures, many tears shed, and many, many freak outs. We have created wondrous towering vegan cakes, and also crumbling disasters that resemble the leaning tower of Pisa (minus all that sleek European styling). We also got into a number of fist fights with each other, but I won't divulge any further on that. In the end, it made us stronger and it made us better bakers. So that's why we're here, to share our desserts and savouries with you, and to teach others how to do what we do. 

After a long journey from Asia, to the Sunshine Coast, then to Cairns, and now back in the Sunshine Coast, our favourite place on the planet, we are now finally settled. We are here to provide the locals with delicious plant based baked goods and raw desserts. We wholesale from our 100% vegan gluten free bakery to a number of cafes and stores around the Sunshine Coast and Cairns. So you might just find our stuff in some of your favourite hang outs. We are here to stay in this beautiful part of the world, so we hope to share our cruelty free food with you for whatever occasion you have.