Teatime is my favorite time of the day, as well as one of my favorite ways to celebrate. Going gluten-free makes my usual menu of scones, finger sandwiches and pastries a bit challenging to make. My first attempt at an allergy-free (we also can't eat eggs, dairy, or corn) tea bread was a bit heavy (see Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread in an earlier post). For that loaf, I used only quinoa flour, and the moisture came from a can of mashed pumpkin, which is awfully thick all by itself.
This Raspberry Banana Bread represents the next generation of my teatime baking. I've switched out half of the quinoa flour for oat flour (see note about gluten), and traded raw sugar for agave nectar. The result is a lighter, smoother loaf. The finished product is a more appealing color as well, and the raspberries give it a festive look.
Raspberry Banana Tea Bread
2 bananas
1/2 cup rice milk
1 cup agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups quinoa flour
2 cups oat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup raspberry jam (all-fruit)
1/2 pint of fresh raspberries
In a large mixing bowl, mash the two bananas with rice milk. If you like, use an immersion blender for smoother consistency -- otherwise a fork works fine too. Mix in agave and vanilla. Dump in both flours, baking soda and salt. Mix well. As this is a very thick batter, the order in which you add the last three ingredients makes a difference to the appearance of your finished product. First mix in the chocolate chips, then cut in the jam carefully to make swirls in the baked bread. Then set out two loaf pans. Spoon just enough batter to cover the bottom of each pan. Place 5 or 6 fresh raspberries in each pan, then cover them with more batter. Alternate until your batter is all in the pans. Top each loaf with a few more raspberries, and push them into the batter. Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. Let cook before slicing. These keep best in the fridge, where the cold helps firm up their insides to make slicing neater.
(* A note about oat flour: While oats do not contain gluten, certain brands are processed on equipment that also processes wheat, and cross-contamination can occur. Look for brands that are certified gluten-free.)
This recipe has been shared with The King's Court IV "What's Cooking Wednesday." Click here for more delicious recipes shared by readers. It has also been shared with Sweetology's "Tea Party Tuesday" and Martha's Favorites "Tea Cup Tuesday" and A Stroll Thru Life's "Table Top Tuesday" and Lady Katherine's "Tea Time Tuesday" and A Delightsome Life's "A Return to Loveliness" and "Hodgepodge Friday" on It's A Hodgepodge Life and "So Sweet Sunday" on Little Rays of Sunshine and Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims and Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom and Tasty Tuesday at Naptime Creations and Tea Time Treats at Lavender and Lovage.
what a lovely treat
ReplyDeletethis is wonderful!! I so appreciate you sharing something that is allergy free. I actually have a lot of readers who need gluten free tea snacks and I will email them your site for future reference!
ReplyDelete@ Trish -- Thank you so much!!
ReplyDeleteI bet this is amazing! I love combining strawberries into my banana bread - would love to try your recipe - I believe I have just the right number of ripe bananas! Thank you for sharing this wonderful post with A Return to Loveliness,
ReplyDeleteGod Bless,
Kathy
A FABULOUS entry thanks so much Lisa! Karen
ReplyDelete