Simple and Tasty Homemade Quickbreads (no yeast required!)

This 8 Ingredient Maple Banana Bread (Rainbow Nourishments) is a sweetened version of one of England’s most popular quick breads (made without yeast). This is a great recipe to use up bananas, the blacker ones have extra sweetness (and banana is a natural egg replacer).

Maple syrup is expensive, but just a splurge will give a beautiful brown sugary taste. Banana bread is easy to digest, but you could spelt flour for even better digestion (just add a splash more plant milk).

Before baking, read up on food safety for people and pets.

Bananas (though not local) are one of England’s favourite fruits. Despite their opaque appearance, they are mostly water and also packed with potassium, so good for aching joints (that’s why tennis players eat them, during their breaks!)

Supermarkets usually sell fair trade bananas (not in plastic) and organic bananas (in plastic – they have to legally do this to avoid being contaminated by non-organic produce).

So the best bet is to visit a farm shop to find all-organic produce. Then you’ll find fair trade organic bananas sold loose – a win-win-win!

They are also more likely to be sea-freighted, than flown in by air. This is because farm shops and organic box schemes care about the planet, and how and where food comes from.

Easy Banana Cake with Cashew Frosting

Also try this easy banana cake (The Simple Veganista).

Homemade Blueberry Quick Bread (or cake!)

This blueberry bread (Rainbow Nourishments) is simple to make with a few ingredients. Quick breads are really cakes, as they contain no yeast. You can use frozen blueberries (you don’t need to defrost them for this recipe).

Keep away from pets, as crumbs may contain nutmeg.

Also try Anthea’s lemon and blueberry cake, which only needs seven basic ingredients. It’s not too sweet, needs no frosting, and has been designed so that the blueberries don’t sink to the bottom!

You could vary this cake recipe by subbing blueberries with raspberries, or adding grated apple with cinnamon in autumn (or even folding in orange zest and cinnamon for winter). In spring, swirl rhubarb compote on top.

These blueberry muffins (Rainbow Nourishments) are simple to make, pop the batter in silicone cupcake liners. They only need a few ingredients (no egg replacer required) and have a crunchy sugar topping. You can add optional cinnamon.

Homemade Vegan Carrot Cake Recipes

Carrot cake is one of England’s favourite cakes. It’s actually a quick bread (no yeast). But as carrots are one of nature’s sweetest vegetables, it tastes like dessert! Other quick breads you will know are banana bread and gingerbread.

This vegan carrot cake recipe (The Veg Space) is from a trained chef, but is super-easy to make with affordable everyday ingredients, and tastes just as good (if not better) than cakes made with dairy and eggs. Keep nutmeg away from pets.

The fresh grated carrots are combined with walnuts for a tasty cake batter made with soya milk (to replace the egg) and dairy-free cream cheese and vegan butters with no palm oil for the icing.

You can decorate the cake with chopped pistachios like the photos, or use more affordable walnuts or pecans if preferred.

This homemade carrot cake (rainbow Nourishments) only needs a few ingredients.

Tips for Good Carrot Cake

Never over-mix the batter, fold gently.
Use an oven thermometer, for best results
Measure baking soda carefully, to avoid bitter taste.
A frosted cake will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days. Bring slices to room temperature, before serving.
Nice served with a drizzle of maple syrup, and a cup of tea!

Rainbow Nourishments offers a nice vegan carrot cake recipe, alongside a carrot cake loaf.

A New More Quick Bread Recipes

Gingerbread cake (Ela Vegan) is made with warming spices can also be turned into muffins.

This blueberry banana bread (Ela Vegan) contains many fresh berries. The natural dye is from the blueberries, nothing artificial.

This homemade courgette bread (Rainbow Nourishments) is nice stuffed with vegan chocolate chips (Plamil is a good brand in paper packs, or sub with walnuts or pecans).

Related to squash, courgettes are used for ratatouille (if not harvested, they grow into marrows). Avoid ones that are wrinkled or have yellow skin or black spots.

Store in the fridge. Choose Choose organic to avoid cross-pollinated seed batches that carry a toxin (Tim Dowling writes how he poisoned himself with homegrown courgettes).

If you’re a choccy-holic, also try Anthea’s recipe for Chocolate Courgette Bread, which unlike the above recipe, has more chocolate than courgette!