Banana Cake
This Banana Cake recipe can be made gluten-free, sugar-free, and dairy-free, so those of you on Whole 30… this one’s for you. (If you don’t have diet restrictions and like a more traditional texture, then you may still use flour and sugar, but it’s nonetheless dairy-free!) I designed this recipe over years of playing with different banana bread variations, settling on this combination of ingredients that yields a cake-like treat. I used to throw this together after a long day of work and school, while calculating how many bananas and other bonus nutrients my son was getting through this dessert, which he coined “Banana Cake.” It’s a fun way to save those near-rotten bananas from being thrown out, and it’s beyond easy to make and quick to bake.
Banana Cake
3 oober-ripe medium-size bananas (OR 2 large OR 4 small)
⅓ cup monk fruit sweetener 1:1 sugar alternative (OR traditional granulated sugar)
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (you may omit this if you don’t have any vanilla on hand)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt (I like Himalayan pink salt…)
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup cassava flour (OR blend ½ cup almond flour and ½ cup coconut flour OR 1 cup all-purpose flour)
Optional toppings include: mini chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, shredded coconut, and blueberries
Line a 10-inch metal cake pan with parchment paper, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mash your bananas with a potato masher or fork.
Add in the monk fruit (or sugar), olive oil, vanilla, and egg; using a fork, stir until combined.
Add the cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and flour of your choice; using a spoon, stir until combined and the only lumps remaining are of banana.
Pour the cake mix into your prepared pan. If you are topping your cake, sprinkle mini chocolate chips and chopped walnuts evenly over the top. Adding shredded coconut to the chocolate and walnuts is fun too, while blueberries (solo) is another delicious variation. There’s nothing wrong with leaving it plain, though…
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top slightly browns, the center does not jiggle, and a butter knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Besides enjoying this Banana Cake as dessert, we have eaten this cake for breakfast before, I’ve thrown it into packed lunches in lieu of the tired sandwich, and of course, it’s always a welcome afternoon snack with a cup of coffee or tea. By the way, if you cut this cake into six even pieces, and you used 3 medium-sized bananas, then your child (or yourself) will eat half of a banana per slice; kudos to hidden fruit.
