Chocolate Banana Snack Cake

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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.

Four very ripe bananas with brown spots.
Spotty Ripe Bananas

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!

pieces of chocolate banana snack cake with melted chocolate chips on top
Chocolate Banana Snack Cake

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.

Baking pan with Chocolate Banana Snack Cake with melted chocolate chips on top.
Chocolate Banana Snack Cake

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.


A piece of Chocolate Banana Snack Cake with chocolate chips on top.
5 from 6 votes
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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.

Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword chocolate banana cake, chocolate cake, healthy, no added fat, no sugar, snack cake, wholegrain
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings 9
Author Making Healthy Choices

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

  1. Prepare 8×8 pan by greasing with coconut oil, butter, or line with parchment paper.

  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

  3. 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.

  4. In a separate bowl, add whole wheat pastry flour and baking soda. Stir to blend together.

  5. Add flour mixture to banana mixture and stir to combine.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

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.
Chocolate Banana Snack Cake


Kiwi Blackberry Stacks with Honey Lime Yogurt

Kiwi Blackberry Stacks with Lime Honey Yogurt
Kiwi Blackberry Stacks with Honey Lime Yogurt

I am quite familiar with kiwi fruits but mostly the green variety and I had not tried Zespri SunGold kiwi before.   When the opportunity came up to participate in the Recipe Redux SunGold Surprise Challenge,  I was excited to be part of it. I love finding new ways to enjoy fresh fruits and if I can find a way to dress them up into an elegant healthy dessert: even better. Continue reading Kiwi Blackberry Stacks with Honey Lime Yogurt

Triple Berry Frozen Yogurt Layer Cake

 

Triple Berry Frozen Yogurt Layer Cake
Triple Berry Frozen Yogurt Layer Cake

It is so exciting to make this cake, but hard to wait until it is finally set and ready to unveil.  I was anxious to see all the layers.  It is so pretty!  I love this mix of pinks and purples with bright red strawberry sauce, and just a little dark chocolate. Perfect for Valentine’s Day.

The key to creating clean layers is to freeze each layer well before pouring the next so that the colours don’t blend together.  I added some fresh raspberries and did a fun swirl pattern on the top layer by spooning drops of the strawberry sauce and using a toothpick to swirl them about. It only takes a few ingredients to make this healthy dessert: berries, yogurt, a little honey, dark chocolate and fruit spread.

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Triple Berry Frozen Yogurt Layer Cake

Fruit spreads add sweetness and intensifies the fruit flavour and colour.  They are made without pectin.  Some brands are made without added sugar, and are a healthier choice than jam or jelly. Fruit spreads tend to be chunkier in texture and have a more spreadable consistency. Check the ingredient list and look for one that contains only fruit.

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Dark Chocolate Heart and Flower Scribbles

To add an extra special touch to decorate the plates we made some chocolate hearts and flowers.  Melt pure dark chocolate, pour into a parchment cone, snip the end and draw your shapes onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.  Pop them into the freezer and they will be firm in only a couple of minutes. I saved this part for an after school activity because I know the kids love it.

Triple Berry Frozen Yogurt Layer Cake

Raspberry Layer

1 cup frozen raspberries

2 tablespoons Raspberry Spread (All Fruit)

1 cup Greek yogurt, plain, unsweetened

Blueberry Layer

1 cup frozen blueberries

2 tablespoons Blueberry Spread (All Fruit)

1 cup Greek yogurt, plain, unsweetened

Strawberry Layer

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1 cup Greek Yogurt, plain, unsweetened

Strawberry Sauce

2 cups frozen strawberries

3/4 cups water

1 tablespoon honey (optional, depending on how sweet your strawberries are).

Directions: In a medium saucepan combine frozen fruit and water and cook covered on low until strawberries are soft and mushy.  Remove from heat and purée with an immersion blender until smooth.  Return to heat and cook down until desired consistency.  Add 1 tablespoon honey (or more or less) depending on the sweetness of the berries and your preference) and let cool.  Prepare loaf pan by lining completely with parchment paper. In food processor or blender, process frozen berries, Greek yogurt and fruit spread.  Pour info prepared pan and freeze for at least 30 minutes.  Rinse out food processor and repeat with other berries and preserves, freezing in between layers for at least 30 minutes. After the final layer, freeze until solid, about 4 hours.  Because I was adding in the strawberry swirl to the top layer I did not add as much fruit to the top layer and also did not add any of the fruit preserves.

To serve, remove from freezer and let sit out for approx 10 minutes before slicing.  Drizzle with strawberry sauce and decorate with chocolate hearts or flowers.