This wholesome but delicious Chocolate Banana Snack Cake is moist, sweet and rich tasting, yet has no butter, no oil, no refined sugar and is made with whole grain flour. It is the winning combination of decadent taste with nourishing ingredients.
Is it sweet enough to call CAKE?
With 3 spotty ripe bananas and fancy molasses, it has just the right amount of sweet, but with no added refined sugar. The semi sweet chocolate chips add extra sweetness and extra chocolate flavour for added decadence. You can reduce the amount if you wish. I love the flavour of molasses but my taste testers could not detect it. In this healthy Chocolate Banana Snack Cake, the molasses provides extra depth and complexity to the chocolate flavour. It is a great combination!
No butter, oil, or added fat?
The magic of mashed ripe bananas adds moisture and structure to this cake making any added fat unnecessary. The source of fat in the recipe comes from the dark chocolate chips. The chocolate chips melt into the cake as it bakes providing an extra rich chocolate taste and texture. Using bananas in place of added fat makes this cake much healthier than a typical cake. Bananas are a nutritious baking swap perfect for healthier sweets and treats.
If you are interested in more cool nutritious baking swaps, check out these Dark Chocolate Seville Orange Truffles (with Avocado) or these Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies (with Black Beans).
It makes my day brighter to hear from my readers, and I welcome your questions or comments. If you try this healthy Chocolate Banana Snack Cake please rate it by hitting those rating stars. Thank you.
Chocolate Banana Snack Cake
This wholesome but delicious Chocolate Banana Snack Cake is moist, and rich tasting, but has no butter, no oil, no refined sugar and is made with whole grain flour. It is the winning combination of decadent taste with nourishing ingredients.
Ingredients
- 3 bananas, ripe
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molasses, fancy
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, dark
Instructions
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Prepare 8×8 pan by greasing with coconut oil, butter, or line with parchment paper.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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Peel ripe bananas and place in mixer with paddle attachment and mix on low until broken up and creamy. (If not using a mixer, mash up with a potato masher until creamy and smooth). Add egg, vanilla, molasses, cocoa powder, salt and mix until smooth.
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In a separate bowl, add whole wheat pastry flour and baking soda. Stir to blend together.
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Add flour mixture to banana mixture and stir to combine.
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Add most of the chocolate chips and stir to mix in. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips on top.
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Bake for 20-25 minutes until the middle is set and the top looks dry. The middle will bounce back when you press it with your finger.
Recipe Notes
Vegan: replace egg with a flax egg, and use dairy free chocolate chips (dark chocolate chips are often dairy free) I have not tested this cake with a flax egg substitute yet.
I really needed to get rid of six ripe bananas so I doubled the recipe to make a 9×13. I did not double the molasses, it seemed a bit much. Turned out perfect! Will definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
chocolate anything is always a great idea! Pinning this for later!
Chocolate and banana is such a great combo and I love that you’ve used whole grain flour. Thanks for sharing!
Definitely picking up some bananas to make this next week! I just bought my first bag of whole wheat pastry flour this week, can’t wait to try it!
Hi Allison, Thanks for stopping by! I would love to hear how it turns out. Pastry flour is great in baking but in a pinch you could use all purpose, whole wheat or spelt flour. It may change the texture slightly but it will still be delicious!
What a delicious way to use ripe bananas. This is so healthy too. Love the addition of molasses. I’m making this today.
Thanks Natalie! So glad you are inspired to try it. Please come back and let me know how it turned out.
Yum! What a delicious treat idea! I just love those big chocolate chips!
Thanks Amy!
Ooh you had me at cake! Love the healthy swaps you made.
I can’t believe I’ve never made chocolate banana bread. It looks delicious and I love that there’s no refined sugar or oil. Can’t wait to try!
I could eat this for a snack any day!
This sounds good! Love the banana chocolate combo 🙂
I’m making this tomorrow! Looking forward to a healthier version of our favorite cake.
I love healthier versions of my favorite desserts. YUM!