We don't normally reproduce other people's recipes on our site, but this cake proved very popular at our recent open day at Clissold Park, so here it is. You can find wonderful recipes from Meera Sodha in the Guardian's Feast magazine every Saturday and check out her brilliant books: Made in India, Fresh India and East. All feature recipes well suited to seasonal veg, so make great veg box companions.
You’ll need a 1kg loaf tin.
2 tbsp rapeseed oil, plus extra for greasing
250g buckwheat flour
1½ tbsp milled flax seed
1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¾ tsp fine sea salt
5 large bananas, peeled to get 400g flesh – save the excess to decorate
80g tahini
180g light brown soft sugar
1½ tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
200ml whole oat milk – check it’s gluten-free if that's important to you
Good vegan butter, to serve.
Heat the oven to 200C. Line a 1kg loaf tin with a long strip of baking paper, making sure some hangs over the edges, and grease the sides with a little oil.
Put the buckwheat flour, milled flax, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a large bowl and whisk to distribute everything evenly.
In another bowl, use a fork to mash 400g bananas to a paste, then add the tahini, sugar, oil, vinegar, vanilla and oat milk. Mix well, then scrape into the flour bowl and mix until the batter is smooth and uniform.
Pour into the lined tin, then tap it on a work bench to level out the surface and release any air bubbles. Thinly slice the remaining banana into 12 coins and lay these on top of the cake in four rows of three, as in the photograph.
Bake for 30 minutes, then turn down the oven to 180C, turn the tin around and bake for a further 30 minutes, until the top of the bread is golden and a skewer comes out clean.
Take out of the oven, leave to cool in the tin, then lift out using the baking paper “handles”. Cut into thick slices, spread with vegan butter and serve.
