Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
I grew up eating and loving my Mom’s banana bread, which was so delicious and sweet, it should have (maybe) been dessert 😉 I healthified banana bread by making it with fiber-rich whole wheat pastry flour and oat flour (which you can make at home by blending rolled oats in a blender) and cut the sugar tremendously by using monk fruit sweetener. The Cinnamon Swirl in the middle and top of the banana bread is unreal and a MUST for the recipe! The center is gooey, like the center of a cinnamon roll, while the top becomes crunchy, almost like crème brûlée.
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
What (your ingredients):
Banana Bread:
1 ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup oat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
3 overripe bananas
¼ cup coconut sugar
¼ cup monk fruit sweetener
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 room temperature eggs
Cinnamon Swirl Middle and Topping:
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup monk fruit sweetener
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
How (your directions):
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a loaf pan with coconut oil and set aside.
To a medium size bowl, add the whole wheat pastry flour, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to combine, then set aside.
To a large bowl, add the bananas and mash until mostly smooth. Add the coconut sugar, monk fruit sweetener, coconut oil, unsweetened apple sauce, vanilla, and eggs. Whisk to combine.
Add the dry ingredients from the medium size bowl to the wet ingredients. Using a spatula, stir until dry ingredients are moistened and all ingredients are well combined.
To make the Cinnamon Swirl Filling and Topping, add coconut sugar, monk fruit sweetener, cinnamon, and coconut oil to a small bowl and stir to combine.
To assemble, pour half of banana bread batter into the oiled loaf pan. Spoon half of the Cinnamon Swirl mixture over the batter. Pour remaining batter over the Cinnamon Swirl Filling. Then spoon the remaining Cinnamon Swirl mixture over the top.
Bake for 45 minutes and allow to cool in pan.
Enjoy for breakfast (or dessert!) throughout the week.
Why (the science): Monk fruit sweetener is a zero-calorie sweetener that can help manage blood sugar and can be replaced in a 1:1 ratio for regular sugar. I use the Lakanato brand!
