Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Snacking Cake
I grew up eating my mom’s homemade peanut butter banana chocolate chip muffins pretty much every week, and started making them myself once I moved out on my own (many, many years ago). This recipe is a slightly modified version of those muffins, but in snacking cake form…because who doesn’t like the sound of a snacking cake? This cake is healthy enough to be a weekday snack, but hits all the spots with its tender crumb and perfectly sweet taste. I’m pretty sure the original recipe my mom used didn’t include chocolate chips, but I include them (and so does she) – for obvious reasons
I’m a slightly obsessive banana freezer, and like to make sure that no bananas ever go to waste in our home. I freeze just-ripe ones, peeled and sliced, on parchment-lined baking sheets to use in smoothies, and very ripe ones are frozen whole, and used in baked goods. Please make sure you use very ripe bananas for this recipe – it makes all the difference. If your bananas are frozen, be sure to leave them on the counter for several hours to thaw before you start baking. You can definitely make muffins instead, using a greased or lined muffin tin, and reducing the baking time to 15-20 minutes. You should end up with about a dozen medium muffins. I hope you’ll try this recipe, and become as hooked on it as I am.
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 25-30 mins
Total time: 35-40 mins
Serves: 12
Ingredients:
• 1½ cups whole-wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• ½ cup cane sugar
• 3 medium ripe bananas
• 1 tbsp flax meal
• ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
• ⅓ cup mild-tasting olive oil
• 3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
• ½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 10" x 10" cake pan with lightly-oiled parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cane sugar, cinnamon and salt until combined.
In a medium bowl, mash peeled bananas until smooth, then add the flax meal, almond milk, olive oil and peanut butter and stir until smooth.
Stir banana mixture and chocolate chips into the dry ingredients until just combined.
Spread batter in cake pan and bake until the centre of the cake springs back up when lightly pressed, between 25 and 30 minutes.
