Moist Banana Nut Bread - Low in Sugar

French Nuts in Banana Bread

As the French are mad about everything chestnuts during Fall, we add chestnut flour and chestnut vanilla paste (crème de marrons) to many cakes - even Scotch pancakes - and this banana bread particularly loves them.

Around metro exits and the Tuileries Gardens, sellers with their familiar beaten-up trolleys are roasting chestnuts. It's a typical Parisian scene in Autumn and Winter with skydiving leaves, while tourists sport banana-yellow berets like Emily in Paris.

With a few extra ripe bananas, rather heavily speckled and brown, it's the perfect time to turn them into a moist banana and nut bread.

Healthy Banana Nut Bread - Reduce the Sugar!

The kids love banana bread for breakfast. We make an Italian-style banana coffee cake, inspired by Nigella Lawson with coffee, but there was way too much sugar.

So we reduced the sugar by less than half - but now feel that the sugar is not necessary at all in any banana bread. Likewise, no sugar is really needed in these healthy banana oat muffins, as extra dried fruits add enough natural sugar.

When bananas are extra ripe, they provide enough natural sugar. Ensure they are spotted and brown - not really 'ap-peeling' (groan) to look at, but they contain much more natural sugar than younger, green-yellow bananas. To find out more about banana's ripening levels of sweetness, see this interesting article on bananas by Harvard School of Public Health.

If you prefer your cake a little sweeter, or your bananas are not as over-ripe, then use the little optional sugar in the recipe. Although, trust me - it's not needed with the sweetened chestnut paste and honey glaze.

In France, it's a myth that we eat sweet cakes each day and gorge on patisseries. It's not true. We totally watch what we eat. Inspired by French pastry chefs, their mantra is too much sugar kills the flavour of pastries and cakes.
See my daughter's article on 5 Ways to Eat Like the French. Likewise, we reduce unnecessary sugar as much as we can.

Are Chestnuts and Conkers the Same?

The conkers from horse chestnut trees are not edible - unlike the sweet edible chestnuts (marrons) so popular in France. For more, see the chestnut page.

The edible chestnuts are particularly popular in both France's Ardèche (known for the crème de marrons) and in Corsica. As you may know, my husband is Corsican, and they love using chestnut flour in many recipes - have you tried this Pumpkin Tart with Chestnut flour?

Tip: As chestnut flour is strong (it's gluten free), mix it with some plain flour.

Just so you know, chestnut flour does tend to make cakes rise less, so although it doesn't look the most photogenic of cakes, its nutty taste is what counts. It's so good! Can't find chestnut flour? Replace with spelt or buckwheat flour or just plain flour.

How Do you Keep Banana Nut Bread Moist?

In this recipe, the oil already adds moisture to the cake - or use melted butter if you prefer. But I also add two tablespoons of sweetened chestnut and vanilla paste. This adds that extra French chestnut flavour - but most importantly, makes this banana nut bread extra moist.

To make this super moist, glaze with warmed honey when the loaf has cooled after baking. This helps to keep the banana's moisture and has the same effect as adding honey to these coconut macaroons.

What is a Popular French Cake?

I find a French "cake" rather amusing since it can be a bit confusing.  The French call a Cake (pronounced KeK) - but it's not a round cake as we know it like a sticky orange caramel cake, or chocolate ginger passion cake.  It's appearance is more like a loaf in shape, as the cake is baked in a loaf tin. French cakes like chestnut cake in Corsica are popular and so merging the two with British banana bread meets together in this moist banana chestnut loaf.

If you look around the patisserie windows around Paris, you'll see that many French pastry chefs top their cakes with fancy frills.

Loaf-shaped cakes are topped with the likes of quartered fresh figs, walnuts, candied fruits like orange or cherries. Even the barest has a simple honey glaze on it.
So it's rare to see a bare, naked-topped French cake in any Parisian pâtisserie. If you do see one, tell me and I'll eat my cake!

Serving Ideas

Super moist and reduced in sugar, this banana nut bread doesn't need much to serve with it. As in French pâtisseries, they decorate cakes with a glaze, fresh fruits or nuts.

So be inspired as to what's around in season and top to your heart's content. Decorate with a brushing of melted honey or apricot jam, even more walnuts, figs or dried apricots.

As this healthier loaf has less sugar, it's great served with cream cheese, fig jam or peanut butter (see my notes how to choose a healthy brand in my peanut butter cookies). Even a scraping of more chestnut and vanilla spread? Perhaps that defeats the purpose of lowering the sugar!