Tahini Banana Bread

Words & Photography
by Melanie Lionello





If I could only have one snack for the rest of my days, it might just be this tahini banana bread. I cannot explain how DELICIOUS and soft and morish and just utterly scrumptious it is!! The combination of honey and tahini is heavenly. Plus, cinnamon and the sweetness of a couple of dates rounds it all together to let my mind drift back to my Middle-Eastern travels with every bite.

I honestly just throw all the ingredients into my food processor or thermomix and blend until it’s pretty smooth, usually around 30 seconds, then pour into a lined loaf pan, top with a sliced banana, some walnuts and sesame seeds, and bake for an hour. DONE! And it freezes perfectly.

My hot tip? Bake the tahini banana bread, then let it cool, slice it, and layer into an airtight container to freeze. That way you can just grab a slice out for brekky or a snack and slot it straight into the toaster and slather with a pat of butter. YUM!!





Tahini Banana Bread
Yields 1 loaf

Ingredients
3 bananas, peeled
1/3 cup hulled tahini
1/3 cup honey
3 medjool dates, pitted
2 and 1/4 cups plain spelt flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk of choice
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Walnuts to top
Sesame seeds to top

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius (fan-forced).
2. Add all ingredients except for one banana, walnuts and sesame seeds to a food processor and blend for 30 or so seconds until batter is 3. quite smooth and combined.
4. Pour batter into a baking paper lined loaf pan.
5. Top with extra banana sliced down the middle, walnuts and sesame seeds.
6. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean (depends on your loaf tin size).
7. Cool in tin for 15 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack until it's cool enough to be easily handled.
8. Slice, wrap and freeze! Or enjoy right away!