My good friend Michelle Ronan is an incredible cook. Recently, Michelle shared with me her delicious (and healthy) Paleo Banana Cake with Coconut Cream Icing – and I just had to share it. This is a healthy treat the whole family can enjoy, and to my Melbourne mums who have their kids at home on school holidays at the moment, getting them involved can be a fun activity.
Tip: This cake is very easy to make, just ensure you check it half way through cooking as you may need to cover it with foil to ensure that the top doesn’t burn. Another point to note is that when you are baking with almond meal and raising agents, try to get the cake into the oven as quickly as you can after adding the raising agents (bi carb & baking powder) this will ensure your cake rises well & has a lovely density.
Ingredients:
Cake:
450g ripe banana (or 4x medium bananas, peeled)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 free range/organic eggs
60g (2 tablespoons) of raw honey, maple syrup or agave
70g (1/4 cup) macadamia nut oil or coconut oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
300g (1 3/4 cups) almond meal
25g (2 tablespoons) chia seeds
2 heaped teaspoons mesquite (optional)
Icing:
1 x 400ml can coconut cream. Cooled in fridge overnight – ensure the contents are 95% coconut extract. Some coconut creams, sit around 65-80% coconut extract & these will not work as well.
4 medjool dates, pitted
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional: To garnish: 1/4 cup coconut flakes.
Method:
Cake:
1. Preheat your oven to 180C.
2. Combine banana, honey, oil, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs, bicarb and baking powder. You can do this by hand in a large bowl. I throw it all into my Thermomix.
3. Add the almond meal, mesquite (if using) and chia seeds and mix well.
4. Lightly grease one round cake tin (I use coconut oil for this).
5. Pour batter into the tin and bake for around 60-75 minutes at 170C. After 20 minutes, bring the cake out and cover it with foil so it doesn’t burn or come out too brown.
6. After recommended cooking time is up, insert a skewer into the centre, it should come out dry and if it does it’s ready to go.
7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before icing.
Icing:
1. Soak dates in a small bowl of boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain and squeeze out excess moisture.
2. Place in Thermomix or food processor and blitz until the dates are shredded into lots of pieces.
3. Remove your tin of coconut cream from the fridge and scoop out the coconut solids. Refridgerating your cream makes it easy to separate the solids from the liquid which will sit at the bottom.
4. Add the solids to the mixture along with the vanilla and blitz on a high speed until well combined.
5. If using a Thermomix, add remaining coconut solids, insert the butterfly and whip for 20-30 seconds.
6. If using a food processor, you can use as is, or if you would like to incorporate some air into your mixture to make it creamier, add icing mixture into a bowl and whip with a hand held mixer or kitchen aid.
7. The frosting should be quite thick, so spread onto your cooled cake.
8. If you would like to garnish with coconut flakes, add them to a pan and toast over a low heat until golden brown then sprinkle on top of the cake.
9. Store your cake in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!
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Yours in Health,
Jennifer Barham-Floreani
(Bach. Chiropractic, Bach. App Clinical Science
Registered internationally, no longer practicing as a chiropractor in Australia.)
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ORIGINAL RECIPE
