Last night we went out with our friends Debbie and Mike. They are quite the non-profit duo. Debbie founded the timely and super innovative Wellness Initiative, while Mike runs Progress Now. Two cutting edge organizations out to make the world a better place. What could be cooler?
Here’s what. Their son Lee will celebrate his first birthday next week. And they have another little one due any day now! We talked about children and of course, my favorite topic delicious, healthy food. They asked if I had any ideas for their son’s birthday cake and told me that little Lee loves bananas.
Here’s what I came up with. Bake it in a loaf pan and it’s a delicious, healthy gluten free banana bread; bake it in a and it’s a delicious, healthy gluten free banana cake. Either way, enjoy!
Banana Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup agave nectar or honey
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- 3 large eggs, whisked
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 bananas (about one cup) mashed
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together almond flour, salt and baking soda
- In a small bowl, combine agave, grapeseed oil, eggs and vanilla, then stir in bananas
- Mix wet ingredients into dry
- Place batter in either a 9 inch springform pan or two small 7.5 x 3.5 inch magic line loaf pans
- Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes
- Remove from oven and allow to cool
Enjoy this delicious gluten free, dairy free banana cake plain or indulge with some cream cheese frosting for a super rich dessert. Either way, happy birthday!
Amber S says
I just made this today and it turned out yummy! I changed just a couple of things… I used 2 cups almond flour and 1 cup sweet brown rice flour. Instead of Agave I used 1/2 cup of Brown Rice Syrup, 2 1/2 cups of Liquid Egg Whites, some cinnamon and 1/8 c of Grapeseed oil. I made muffins out of the batter and my kids even like them!! Thank you so much!!
Amber S says
I made a mistake on the portions of the eggs.. it was just over a half cup of the egg replacers. These made 24 muffins and were gone that night!! Thanks so much!!
Theresa says
Does it take special talent to work with this almond flour? I made cookies but had an almond flour/meal so went and bought the almond flour that is blanched. The cookies did not turn out at all and now the banana bread was horrible. the consistency was that of an omlette and no I did not put in too many eggs. just soft and airy but so soft like an omlette not a bread. (actually put it in a cake pan to make bars out of it) Can you let me know what I am doing wrong. what consistency should my batter be when working with almond flour.
elana says
Hi Theresa,
Thanks for your comment :-)
Almond flour is very simple to use and does not require any special talents; however, for my recipes it is important to use the type/brand of almond flour that I recommend.
Please see my Ingredients page for more info.
Thanks,
Elana
kk says
My husband and I are actually going to make this again the same way as I did it before. We have been CRAVING it Elana! I was hoping for a reply from you but you are probably really busy trying to come up with more amazing recipes for us!
I wanted to give an update that went with my post. When I split the dough between bread and muffins and with the times to cook I listed, we wound up addicted to this new way to make banana bread. The dough comes out to so much that it makes sense to split it at least between two loaf pans, if not into muffins as well. One thing I did do wrong is not spray the bread pan enough, which another breadmaker posted here as well.
Again, thank you VERY much for the recipes. This is one of my favorites and I look forward to whatever you are working on in the days to come!
elana says
Dear Liesl,
I’m sorry this did not work out for you.
If you take a look at the ingredients list, you will see that this recipe actually calls for almond, not coconut flour –and these 2 ingredients are not at all interchangeable.
I do hope you’ll try to make it again with the recommended ingredients and let us know how it goes for you :-)
Thanks,
Elana
Liesl Mitchell says
Well that would certainly explain it! I could have sworn it called for coconut flour. I do have almond flour and will definitely try again. I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why eveyone else had such good results and I didn’t! Thanks for the clarification and the recipes.
Liesl Mitchell says
This was HORRIBLE! I followed the recipe exactly and it was all crumbs! THREE cups of flour? Really? Check the wet content ratio with dry … it doesn’t make any sense. I had to add almost two cups of milk to moisten it and ended up throwing the whole thing in the garbage. It was inedible. And coconut flour is not cheap. :-(
Amy Jean says
Hi Liesl;
I know your comment is several years back, but the recipe called for Almond flour, not coconut. I have been following Elana for years with great results with my baking. Hope you continue making new recipes on her website! Happy New Year! :)
Elana says
Amy Jean, thanks so much for your comment!
kk says
Hello Elana,
I have been making stuff from your website for a few weeks. Our two most favorite treats are the Double Chocolate Orange Torte, and the Silver Dollar pancakes. I found your website through the other blogger from the Garden of Eating cookbook. My husband and I went gluten free/dairy free on our Paleo Diet and have never felt healthier. Anyways, Thank you so much for the many recipes which use Almond flour. I have a major sweet tooth and we only do “cheat” meals once a week so it is nice to be able to make stuff that we can eat and will also satisfy my sweet craving. (-:
For this recipe, I split this dough in half and added 1/2 more of a banana. I should probably mention that I packed my almond flour, and used coconut oil instead of grapeseed. (Bobs Red Mill has never failed me so far.) I then poured a little extra agave because I think it tastes delicious. From there I poured half into a bread tin and the other half into muffin tins and put chocolate chips (60 cacao because the other stuff is too bitter) in the muffins. The muffins were done after 17 minutes, and the bread is in the oven right now. I cant wait to try this banana bread, especially after reading the other reviews. Thank you so much for providing a wonderful community and a ton of recipes. Look forward to your response and trying more treats!
Rochelle Eissenstat says
Re measuring the “flours” – because of differences in the ways everyone measures, the recipes may turn out badly!
How about adding an additional instruction – WEIGH the flour [and the salt or other problematic ingredients]. Then it won’t matter exactly how one scoops or another packs it into the measuring cups.
Rochelle
Sarah says
Hi Elana! I love your blog and I am so grateful for your wonderful recipes. In an effort to get healthier I have recently removed wheat and gluten from my diet. It is amazing how much better I feel! I recently made this cake and it is delicious and was a hit with the fam! I added a bit of cinnamon and used coconut oil instead of grapeseed oil, which is what I had.
Thanks! Sarah
Tamara says
I just made this (except replaced with coconut oil) and it was AMAZING!!! Me and my fiancee could hardly tell it wasn’t the usual banana bread w/ flour and sugar etc. Elana rocks!!
Christina Pollock says
I have your cookbook and tried the sandwich bread. It did not turn out well. It was very heavy and dry. I had a hard time swallowing it as it got stuck in my throat. I have tried other recipes from your book and really liked them so I am wondering if you have a different sandwich bread recipe. I am having such a hard time not being able to have a sandwich. Every bread I try tastes terrible. Not having a sandwich is the hardest part of having to eat gluten free for me and I am getting desperate.