Buckwheat Banana Bread with Poached Cherries and Mascarpone

Bananas are not something I buy frequently, which pretty much means I rarely make banana bread, but when I do, I use an old recipe from the Palo Alto Junior League cookbook called Private Collection (real gems....there are two). For some odd reason I've never posted the recipe, but Lori from Recipe Girl did, if you want to try it. It's my go-to recipe if I'm going to make banana bread. Or was.
Not any longer.
Recently, I ran across this Buckwheat Banana Bread recipe and because I love buckwheat flour and had some rare over ripe bananas on the counter, I tried it. We're not a gluten-free house but this recipe is indeed gluten free. And honestly, totally awesome with the buckwheat flour and coconut palm sugar. This particular recipe is gussied up for company with some poached cherries and a mascarpone topping, but you don't need to do that if you'd rather not....it's fabulous all on its own.
The original recipe used poached quinces if you'd prefer (I didn't have any, but had cherries in the fridge so poached those per a recipe from :pastry studio) and pistachios (I used almonds) as a garnish. Use whatever you have handy. In addition, I used vanilla bean paste (which is also gluten-free) instead of powdered vanilla.

Buckwheat Banana Bread with Poached Cherries and Mascarpone
From Gather and Feast

Instructions:
4 large ripe bananas, mashed
4 eggs
¼ cup honey
1/3 cup coconut sugar 
1 tsp vanilla powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
½ cup coconut oil
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
2 cups almond meal
¼ cup buckwheat flour
Pinch of sea salt 

Ingredients for the vanilla bean mascarpone*
250g mascarpone
4 tbs coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla powder (I used vanilla bean paste)
Pistachios for sprinkling (I used sliced and toasted almonds)

Ingredients for the cherry compote
(recipe from :pastry studio)
3 cups fresh cherries (about 1 lb, 2 oz)
1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) sugar, to taste
zest of 1 orange
1 - 2 tablespoons balsamic, to taste                                          
few grains of salt

Method for the banana bread:
(I cut the above recipe in half and used one 8 by 4 inch loaf pan)
Preheat your oven to 340 degrees. Line your loaf pan with parchment paper.
Combine mashed bananas, eggs, honey, coconut sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice and coconut oil.
Fold the baking powder, almond meal, buckwheat flour and sea salt into the mixture.
Pour the batter into your loaf tin and place into the oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack briefly, then remove from the pan and cool completely.

Method for the cherry compote:

For the cherry compote, pit the cherries and place them in a saucepan with the sugar and the orange zest.  Cook over low heat until the juices begin to flow. Add the balsamic vinegar and a few grains of salt and cook just until the cherries are tender.  Take off the heat and let cool while you prepare the cake batter.

Method for the vanilla bean mascarpone:
Mix all the ingredients together.
*(Yours won't be as runny as mine in the photo above....I made a small amount and left it on the counter so it wasn't as firm as I would have liked. Still delish though.)

Slice the bread, top with cherries and mascarpone sauce and serve.