Some of us would eat banana bread all day if we could. Buttery and sweet, it makes the perfect treat for any occasion – plus the recipe is extremely simple to follow. There are millions of different recipes for banana bread and most of them are actually great but there is one ingredient that could really make our favorite loaf cake irresistible.

What could that be other that tea of course? Cooking with tea can add a unique character to any of your favorite plates so why not infuse our cake with it.. In this post, I am sharing with you 4 recipes for the most moist, tender and aromatic banana breads in the world!

Whether you are a black tea drinker, a green tea enthusiast or a chai latte addict you are guaranteed to find one recipe to make you drool over!

Just don’t forget to make yourself a big cup of tea to enjoy a slice with!

#1 Matcha Banana Bread (Gluten free)

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats (pulsed in blender until they turn into powder) or 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup tigernut or coconut flour
• 1 serving of plant-based protein (plain or vanilla)
• 1 tablespoon moringa
• 1 tablespoon matcha
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• pinch of sea salt
• 2 eggs (egg replacement: combine 1 tbs. chia seeds or flaxseed meal with 2.5 tbs. water, mix and let set for 5 minutes to activate)
• 1/3 cup nut butter (you can use almond or sunflower butter)
• 1/2 cup nut milk
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds and chopped almonds for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch loaf pan coconut oil.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Add nut butter, eggs (or egg replacement) and nut milk, and mix well.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients: flour, protein powder, matcha, moringa, baking soda and salt. Stir that into the banana mixture.

4. Pour into a greased pan and top with pumpkin seeds and chopped almonds.

5. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry. Let chill, and serve banana bread slices with almond butter drizzle, if desired.

#2 Earl Grey Banana Bread

Ingredients

• ½ cup Water
• 5 bags of Earl Grey tea
• ¼ cup packed Dark Brown Sugar
• ¾ cup Sugar
• ½ cup Butter
• 1 cup fat free Sour Cream
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
• 2-1/4 cups all purpose Flour
• 3 very ripe Bananas, mashed
• 2 tablespoons Turbinado Sugar (Sugar in the Raw)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F.
2. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add the tea bags. Allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes, then discard the tea bags. Add the sugars and butter and return the pan to the heat. Cook until the butter and sugars have melted into a thick syrup, about 2 minutes. Let cool.
3. Combine the sour cream and baking soda in a large bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the cooled tea syrup and the eggs. Sift in the flour and fold gently to combine. Fold in the mashed bananas.
4. Pour the batter into two greased loaf pans. Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar.
5. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

#3 Rooibos Banana-Carrot Bread

Ingredients

• 2 bananas, ripe
• 1 c[250ml] whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarb soda
• 2eggs
• 4 oz veg oil
• 2 Tbsp rooibos tea, brewed (I used vanilla rooibos)
• 4 oz soft brown sugar
• 1 c finely grated carrots
• 1/2 c sultanas or raisins [must be seedless]
• 1/2 c walnuts or pecan nuts
• 1/4 c pitted dates
• butter for greasing pan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350oF [180oC}
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarb soda together.
3. Whisk in the oil and Rooibos Tea add the sugar and whisk together until the mixture is creamy
4. Stir in the flour, alternating with the bananas, carrots, raisins [or sultanas] walnuts and dates ensuring that the mixture is thoroughly combined.
5. Lightly grease a loaf tin with the butter and pour the mixture in it.
6. Bake for +/- 35 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
7. Remove the Rooibos Banana and Carrot Bread from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool [wait a few minutes before doing this].
8. You can either serve slices warm or cold, buttered or not as you prefer.

#4 Chai Spiced Wholewheat Banana Bread

Ingredients

•  115g butter, at room temperature
•  60-80ml honey, depending on how ripe your bananas are, OR 130g brown sugar/coconut sugar
•  3-4 medium overripe bananas (about 400-450g after peeling), mashed
•  2 eggs
•  1 tsp. vanilla extract or seeds from ½ a vanilla pod
•  340g whole-wheat flour
•  2 tsp. baking soda
•  ½ tsp. salt
• FOR THE CHAI SPICES (use as many or as little as you like)
•  1 tsp. ground cinnamon
•  ½ tsp. ground ginger
•  ¼ tsp. ground cloves
•  ¼ tsp. ground cardamom
•  ¼ tsp. ground star anise

Notes: you can also use a few tablespoons of chai concentrate if you would like.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350F)
2. Grease a standard 23cm (9”) loaf pan with butter and dust with flour. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter with the honey/sugar with an electric mixer for 3-4 minutes until light in color and fluffy. Add the mashed banana and mix till combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix till combined (don’t worry if the mixture is looking a little split at this stage, it will come together once you add the dry ingredients.)
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices (if using). Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in 2 additions, mixing between each addition, until smooth and well mixed, Scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Don’t over-mix.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the oven for about 60 minutes, until it is risen and deep golden brown, and a skewer (or thin sharp knife) inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before unmolding. Once cooled completely, you can store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. If the weather is super hot, it is better to store it in the fridge after the second day and reheat slices as needed.

Which one are you trying this Sunday??