Chocolate Banana Cake

Recipe adapted from Joy of Baking
There is nothing like waiting until the last day of the month to squeeze in one more recipe for National Ice Cream month. Obviously todays recipe isn't ice cream, but cake is often served with ice cream so I think it works.

Other cake recipes I have used that don't call for eggs are sometimes a bit dry and crumbly, but not this recipe. One of the reasons I like it so much is how moist it is.  The fat is in liquid form, which gives it it's delicious moist texture and tender crumbs. Plus, it is another great way to use extra ripe bananas which I seem to frequently have on my counter.

I made this recently as a birthday cake and it was a big hit! It serves 16 people which makes it great for large gatherings. Using it for birthday cake is also how I am tying it into recipes using ice cream. You can't have birthday cake without ice cream!

1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar (I used 1 cup raw sugar and 1/2 cup regular sugar)

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or dutch-processed)

1 1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp fresh ground flax seed mixed with 3 Tbsp water

1/3 cup no-sugar added applesauce

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized bananas)

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup non-dairy milk

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick spray or wipe with coconut oil. Set aside

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the ground flax seeds mixed with water, applesauce, mashed bananas, water, non-dairy milk, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk until combined. The batter will be quite thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for  35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cooked, frost with chocolate butter cream frosting.

Here is the basic buttercream frosting that I used, but feel free to experiment with other types of frosting.

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker
3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup stick butter, softened but not melted

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or dutch-processed)

2 to 3 Tbsp. non-dairy milk

Mix all ingredients except milk in a bowl.

Stir in non-dairy milk until smooth and spreadable. This will frost a 9x13 inch cake very generously (or you can save some for spreading on graham crackers later - but don't tell anyone I said to do that).

I hope you love this cake as much as we did. I seriously could not stop eating it - too bad it is a big cake and there was some leftovers!

Jana