IMAGINE A HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CAKE – and you have come to the right place to make it! A healthy, yet rich and gooey cake that tastes divine! This chocolate cake with banana and apricot is free of added sugars (it has natural sugars from banana and dried apricot), high in fibre and packs a punch of nutrition!
THIS CAKE IS A PERFECT ADDITION TO ANY REGULAR LUNCHBOX AS WELL AS A FANCY HIGH-TEA with your pals.
THE INGREDIENTS ARE PRETTY AWESOME:
- Dried apricots are rich in nutrients and fibre. I use dried apricots that are not treated with sulphite (sulphite is a chemical used for apricots to stay orange even when dried, apricots dried without sulphite are brown).
- Coconut oil has an anti-inflammatory effect in your body.
- Mashed ripe bananas provide magnesium, which can help soothe muscle cramps and help alleviate tension headache. Aside from that, bananas pack B vitamins and fibre, which makes them healthy for your nervous system and bowels, respectively. Not to mention, bananas are a great ingredient to make this cake naturally sweet and gooey!
- Almond flakes on top are healthy too – almonds are a great source of B vitamins, important for skin health and for the nervous system.
FOR A GLUTEN-FREE VERSION, I use oatmeal or almond meal. Both of these are nutrient-dense, and contain a lot of fibre. You can also use spelt flour, which is a grain that we as humans can (apparently) digest better than regular wheat.
CHOCOLATE CAKE
WITH BANANA & APRICOT
Prep time: 15minutes. Baking time 45-55 minutes.
Oatmeal flour, or almond meal, 1 1/2 cup
Cocoa powder, organic, 1/2 cup
Pinch of salt
Dried apricots, non-sulphite treated, 1 cup, blended in a blender with 250ml of water until gooey with small chunks
Bananas, ripe, 2 pieces, peeled and mashed with a fork until soft
Coconut oil, 2tbsp
Honey, 2 tbsp
Eggs, 3
Water, 1/2 cup
Baking tin and baking sheet
Optional: almond flakes, 1/5 cup
1. PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 180 C (325 F). In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients together (flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda).
2. IN ANOTHER BOWL, melt the coconut oil au-bain-marie (meaning, place the bowl on top of a pan with boiling water so the steam melts the oil in the bowl). When melted, take off heat and add the honey, the banana mash and the apricot paste to the same bowl. Stir with a fork to get all the ingredients to mix.
3. ADD THE DRY INGREDIENTS to the wet ingredients, adding half a cup at a time and stirring it through before adding the next portion (this will allow you to stir everything well without lumps forming in your mixture).
4. ADD EGGS AND WATER. Mix well.
5. PLACE A BAKING SHEET in the baking tin and pour the mixture in. You can level it out using a spoon. Place the cake in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, then test whether the cake is done using a toothpick. The cake is done when the toothpick comes out clean after you poked it into the cake.
6. TO DECORATE YOUR CAKE, use almond flakes (which add a nice crunch). Roast raw almond flakes in a pan for 3-5 minutes on low heat, watch them closely so they don’t burn. When roasted, spread them atop a warm cake.
7. WHEN THE CAKE HAS COOLED, cut and serve, or keep in the fridge for up to three days.
Ana's Bananas 