Date and Banana Breakfast Bread with Homemade Pecan Butter

When you start the day with banana bread, you know it's going to be a good day.

Date and Banana Breakfast Bread with Homemade Pecan Butter

adapted from here

For the Bread:

250g mejool dates, halved and pitted

75ml grape seed oil

125g thick yoghurt (I use a bio-dynamic yoghurt)

1 tablespoon vanilla

4 ripe bananas, peeled

2 eggs

150 Atta flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

100g ground almonds

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 apple, coarsely grated

50g natural almonds, roughly chopped

For the Nut Butter:

200g pecans

Pinch sea salt flakes

To Serve:

Thick yoghurt

Oranges cut unto wedges

Make the Bread:

Preheat the oven to 180C.  Get yourself a large sheet of baking paper and crumple it up into a ball.  Run it under a tap and squeeze it out.  Uncrumple it and line a 25cm cast iron skillet with it.  Set aside.

Place 200g of the dates in a food processor along with the oil, yoghurt, vanilla, bananas and eggs and blitz until smooth.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground almonds, poppy seeds and turmeric and pulse until just combined.  Add the grated apple and stir with a spatula to incorporate.

Spoon the batter into the prepared skillet and spread out to the edges.  Top with the remaining date halves and the chopped almonds, pushing them into the batter a little.  Bake for 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly.  Serve warm, but it's equally good at room temperature.

Make the Nut Butter:

Preheat the oven to 180C.  Spread the nuts out onto a baking sheet and toast for about 8 - 10 minuts until golden and aromatic.  Leave to cool on the tray, put them into a food processor with a good pinch of salt and blitz until smooth and creamy.  The process takes a little while to achieve the buttery consistency, but keep stopping the processor and scraping down the sides and you will end up with a lovely nut butter in the end.

To Serve:

Cut wedges of the bread and serve with a generous dollop of yoghurt, some orange wedges and a big smear of pecan butter.