Cake #6 - Banana Loaf with Oats

My Wednesday cakes during my 365 Cakes / 365 Days challenge will be Natural Ingredient / Healthy Cakes. Not that I wouldn't use natural ingredients as much as possible in my baking already but I will try to create cakes which are even more 'natural' and taste and look good, too, without too much sugar, for example, and especially without artificial flavourings. I have to say I am blessed to have a family with no diet restrictions at all (except the odd 'mental allergies' aka dislikes) and I do not need to take any of that into account in my baking so in my case 'healthy' does not necessarily mean a special diet. 

Personally, my most favourite natural ingredients are fresh berries and, to be honest, I would love to use more berries in my baking but very often the cost limits my choices. (no garden, unfortunately!) Red currants look gorgeous on a cheesecake and they taste gorgeous with a cheesecake but 4€ for a box of 125 g is a bit too much, especially when 125 g is way too little for one cheesecake. Whenever I get red currants (or any of those more expensive berries - let's say sea buckthorns) for a reduced price I do buy them and happily use them - a lot! Plenty of vitamin C and plenty of colour therapy!

This Banana Loaf I baked for my first Natural Ingredient Cake may not count as colour therapy (that's why I have the yellow bananas in the background of the picture because a brown loaf on a brown table looked just... brown!) but for energy boost it definitely does. [ I just had a piece and now I am ready to take my son to the shops to buy him school shoes - he hates shopping] Excellent for brunch, tastes yummy with some butter after toasted...

Use the same recipe and bake as muffins (200C for 15 minutes) which go well in the kids' lunchboxes, too!

Banana Loaf with Oats

300 g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

100 g light brown sugar
3 overripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
100 ml milk
100 g butter, melted

Oats and banana chips

1. Grease a 2 lbs loaf pan and coat it with oats.
2. Preheat oven to 175C / 350F.
3. Mix all dry ingredients together.
4. In another bowl mix together mashed banana (leave a bit lumpy), milk, eggs and melted butter and fold into the dry ingredients trying not to mix to much.
5. Spoon dough into pan.
6. Sprinkle some oats and banana chips on top and bake in the oven for about 35-45 minutes.

7. Let cool before moving from pan and cutting into slices.