Who doesn’t LOVE banana cake? Or banana bread? However you want to make it, it’s bound to be a winner and a household favourite. I had five bananas almost ready to throw out the other day (Yep, it was one of those weeks where Lincoln didn’t eat bananas, whereas some weeks he has one a day.)

Rather than throwing them out I remembered ‘duh,’ you can make a cake out of this. So I got to work. I’ve tried lots of banana cake recipes recently. Some super healthy, some traditional with all the good stuff (sugar, milk, plain flour, you know.) The reality is, the ‘healthier’ ones taste just as good if not better than traditional recipes.

It’s basically up to you as to how healthy you want to be and what ingredients you have on hand, because the taste can be found in both.

I got this recipe from https://cookieandkate.com/healthy-banana-bread-recipe/  and made a few minor adjustments based on what I had in the cupboard and to simply experiment a little with ingredients. Turned out great! (Although I took some to my parents for morning tea where my mum asked if I cooked it in a microwave?! Um, no it was oven-baked thanks mum…I’ll take that as a compliment since it was so moist hahaha.) I thought it was great, and it was super yummy day two heated up in the microwave with a spread of olive spread…yummo!)

The good thing is it required no added sugar, dairy and I used gluten-free flour too. You can modify according to your needs aswell, or what ingredients you have.

Here’s how you do it: (Note… I’m showing you Cookie & Kate’s recipe then what I did with each step)

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil (I used the olive oil )
• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (I used half of each)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas ( about 2.5 medium, I used 3 for more flavour)
• 1/4 cup milk of choice (I used coconut milk)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt ( I used himalayan)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 & 3/4 cups whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour (I used gluten-free plain flour)
  • Original recipe says you can add in things like raisins, walnuts, chopped dried fruit… I didn’t add anything in for this one.

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 165 degrees C (325 farenheit)
• Grease 9 x 5 inch loaf pan
• In a large bowl, beat the oil and honey together with a whisk
• Add eggs and beat well, whisk in the mashed bananas and milk (if using coconut oil it can solidify, so warm over stove or microwave if needed)
• Add in baking soda, salt, cinnamon, whisk to blend
• Switch to big spoon and stir in flour until just combined
• Fold in extra ingredients if you are adding them
• Pour batter into pan, sprinkle with cinnamon if you like
• Bake for 55 to 60 minutes  – use a toothpick to check if cooked through (I found it was done at 55 minutes. I took it out at 45 minutes but the bottom part was not cooked properly)
• Let it cool for 10 mins, then transfer to wire cooing rack for 20 mins

You can enjoy it warm on it’s own or with a sneaky bit of olive spread. It is good enough on its own though for sure.

This is a great way to have a sweet, cake treat without the store-bought preservatives and ingredients in commercially made banana loaves. There is still some fats and calories in here of course, but less than store bought and way healthier in terms of ingredients.

Try it !

Enjoy and let me know how you go with it.