Gluten-Free Plantain Bread

Plantain Bread is a beautifully easy bake made with super ripe plantains which boasts a rich robust flavour infused with ginger and nutmeg. Gloriously moist with a sweet tender crumb and a crisp chewy crust, this incredible gluten-free version is a huge favourite with the whole family.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 45

Course: Cake

Cuisine: British

Servings: people

Calories: 420kcal

Author: Georgina Hartley

Ingredients

3 ripe plantains about 500g without skins
350 g soft light brown sugar
2 eggs medium
120 g olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
200 g cassava flour
200 g ground almonds (almond flour)
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan assisted oven / gas mark 4 and line a grease a 9 inch loaf tin.
Mash the plantains with a potato masher then pour them into a large bowl or stand mixer along with the sugar, eggs, olive oil and vanilla. Beat the ingredients together until completely combined.
Whisk together the cassava flour, ground almonds, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, nutmeg and salt.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix together.
Pour the cake batter into the loaf tin and bake for 80-90 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from the cake tin and allow to cool on a wire rack completely before serving.

Notes

Ingredients

Eggs. The eggs used in this recipe are medium size, 60g each with shell and 50g without shell. If you can't get hold of medium eggs I suggest you weigh the amount.
Brown sugar. You can substitute with white sugar or coconut sugar.
Olive oil. Use either coconut oil or even melted butter.
Cassava flour. You can substitute with regular gluten-free flour.
Ground almonds (almond flour) You are looking for blanched ground almonds. There is a bit of labelling confusion over almond flour which is sold as ‘ground almonds’ in most major UK supermarkets and found in the baking aisle. If you want to know what exactly you are looking for then check out this post >>> Is Almond Flour The Same As Ground Almonds.

Baking notes and tips

Do note, this is a tall loaf cake, don’t be alarmed when it muffins slightly over the top of your loaf tin. This is how you get that crisp chewy crust that’s incredibly appealing.
It’s also a longish bake so do set aside some time for that. At least it’s very quick to mix together!
The blacker your plantains the sweeter your cake will be. You can reduce the sugar by 25g if your plantains are totally black.
This Plantain Bread tastes better the day after you bake it.

Make ahead: This Plantain Bread lasts well for up to 5 days. Keep in an airtight container in a cool dark place.

Freeze: Cool the whole Plantain Bread to room temperature then wrap well in both cling film and aluminium foil. You can freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, leave out on the kitchen counter overnight all wrapped up. Once it has defrosted you can remove the cling film and foil and serve.

Ingredient measurements: Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.

US customary measurements: These US measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups

Nutrition information: Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. Please seek a professional nutritionist’s advice for further clarification.

The nutrition serving is for 1 slice of plantain bread.

Nutrition