Sunday, June 9, 2013

Vegan Banana, Apple, Pineapple, Sunflower and Pistachio Cake

I love fruit. I can't think of any fruit off the top of my head that I don't like. Of course there are days where I don't feel like eating a particular fruit, but there are those select few that I will always be in the mood for. 

Bananas for example are right up there on my list of favourites along with mango. I love that bananas are natures energy source and that they are so versatile. Even banana leaves are useful in cooking!! The banana tree is just all full of goodness from top to bottom. 

My mum loves bananas too and she came home yesterday with a nice big bunch of them. I was struggling to find something new to do today and I didn't have much time but I still opened up one of the vegan cookbooks I borrowed from the library called Now Vegan! by Lynda Stoner. I found a recipe for Banana, Sunflower and Pistachio Bread. I made a few changes to it so that it would be a sugar-free recipe and I didn't have a bread tin so I just made it into a square cake. 

The cake turned out nice and fluffy which I wasn't expecting because I used spelt flour which usually makes cakes more dense than normal flour. But I'm not complaining. This is a perfect little fruity sweet treat for breakfast, morning tea or dessert. Definitely pair it with a nice cup of whatever it is you enjoy be it tea, coffee or some other hot beverage. 

Vegan Banana, Apple, Pineapple, Sunflower and Pistachio Cake

Ingredients
  • 100g (3oz) vegan margarine
  • 3/4 raisins
  • Egg replacer for 2 eggs
  • 2 large ripe bananas
  • 1 apple, cored and cut into quarters
  • 100g fresh pineapple or canned pineapple, drained
  • 100g (3oz) shelled pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
  • 2 cups  self raising flour (I used white spelt flour)
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/4 cup mixed spice
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to moderate, 180 degrees C (350F)
  2. Grease and line base of cake tin
  3. Combine bananas, apple, pineapple and raisins in food processor and blend (you can leave your raisins whole if you like. I used raisins as a substitute for sugar which the original recipe called for)
  4. Add margarine and and egg replacer and blend until combined.
  5. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the nuts and seeds.
  6. Sift flour and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl. Add mixed spice and fold into the banana mixture. 
  7. Spoon into cake tin and bake for 1 hour or until skewer comes out clean.
  8. Leave to cool in tin for 15 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool completely. 

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