Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Cathy’s Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
Buckwheat Raisin Banana Bread with Cherry Glaze
I seem to always find myself with too many bananas to possibly eat, so banana bread is my favorite way to give them a second life. This tasty gluten-free sweet bread is peppered with plump raisins, sweetened with figs, and topped with a crumble of buckwheat and walnut, and a finishing glaze of puréed cherries.
Served warmed or toasted, this banana bread is a lovely, healthy option for breakfast, at teatime, or ending to a meal. Who needs those inflammatory eggs, butter, oil, sugar, or refined flour anyway?
Prep time 15 minutes Bake time 60-70 minutes Makes one 4”x8” loaf
Ingredients
3 ripe bananas
½ plus 1/8 cup soy yogurt
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3-4Tablespoons fig paste from 1 cup dried figs, or to taste
1 1/4 cups buckwheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground Ceylon (true) cinnamon (best to freshly grind the sticks into powder)
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon green cardamom seed, freshly ground (optional)
1 Tablespoon flaxseed, freshly ground
½ cup raisins, any variety
Crumble and Glaze
1 cup whole buckwheat
1/8 cup English walnuts
1 cup frozen cherries
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C for 20-30 minutes before baking.
Make Fig Paste
Fruit pastes make great sweeteners and they’re easy to make. Simply place a cup or so in small pyrex bowl, cover with water, microwave for 2 minutes (or simmer in a small pot on a stovetop for 4 minutes). Cool and pulse in a food processor or blender to your desired consistency. They will keep in the fridge for several, and you can enjoy them as you would any jam or preserve. Set aside.
Plump Up those Raisins
Rehydrate the raisins by soaking in water for 30 minutes or microwaving for 1 minute and steep for 5. Cool. Drain. Set aside.
Make the Crumble and Glaze
For the crumble, combine the whole buckwheat and walnuts in a food processor. Run briefly to chop crudely and uniformly. Set aside.
For the cherry glaze, defrost cherries and blend in a blender under smooth. If the purée is watery, cook on very low, stirring occasionally, until reduced to a thick, light, and creamy consistency. Set aside.
Make the Batter
Add the wet ingredients (bananas, fig paste, vanilla, lemon juice, soy yogurt) to a high-speed blender and run until smooth.
Now add the dry ingredients (buckwheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, ground flaxseed). Run until just combined. Don’t overprocess. If too thick, add a little more yogurt. The consistency should be a rather thick but pourable.
Transfer to a bowl and gently stir in the raisins, distributing them throughout the batter.
Bake
Pour into a pyrex loaf pan (if you use a metal pan, you will need to line with parchment paper first), and place on a rimmed cookie sheet.
Move to your preheated oven and bake for 40-50 minutes. Test with a skewer, inserted in the center. It should come out clean. If not, return to oven for another 10 minutes and retest. When it's ready, remove from oven.
Raise oven temp to 425°F/218°C.
Spread a layer of the crumble on top of the bread.
With a pastry brush, brush on the cherry glaze.
Return to the oven for the final 10 minutes of baking. Remove when the top splits and the cherry glaze has begun to carmelize.
When the bread is ready, transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. If you want to remove it from the pyrex loaf pan, run a thin knife or icing spatula around the perimeter, keeping the knife/spatula clean as you go, invert the pan and gently shake it to emerge. If it is stubborn, remove a slice or two first and slip the spatula underneath to free it up.
Slice and serve warmed or lightly toast. Enjoy!
