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Naturally sweetened fudgy chocolate cake with almonds and bananas

Chocolate Banana Almond Cake

Naturally sweetened, fudgy, dairy-free chocolate cake with almonds and bananas
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Makes: 8 large slices
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Ingredients
  

  • 2 very ripe medium bananas (see notes)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 3/4 cup ground almonds
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • Sliced almonds to decorate, optional

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180 C and grease a 9" round cake tin (see notes for options).
  • In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas very well, then add the eggs and vanilla. Whisk well to combine (a balloon whisk works great, or use a fork).
  • Add the oil and honey and whisk again till smooth.
  • Now stir in the ground almonds, then sift in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Fold gently to combine into a smooth and slightly runny batter.
  • Pour into the prepared cake tin, sprinkle the top with sliced almonds and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick poked in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. For safety, start checking at about 35 minutes as ovens vary and this cake is quite thin.
  • Let the cake cool almost completely (it will sink as it cools) before slicing and serving slightly warm, with ice cream or whipped cream for additional sweetness if you prefer. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for about a week. Happy baking!

Notes

*As written, this recipe makes a moderately sweet cake. Using very ripe bananas is therefore important otherwise there won't be much sweetness at all. If you prefer sweeter cakes, you can also stir in about 1/4 cup sugar with the olive oil.
*I used blanched almonds and ground them up finely in my blender. If you have skin-on almonds, that's ok too, they will be a bit coarser is all. Store-bought almond flour has the finest texture and your cake will be a little dense, if you prefer to use that.
*This cake is not very tall because bananas and almonds weigh down the batter. If you'd like a taller cake, bake it in a smaller cake tin, maybe about 6 inches in diameter or even a 9x5 loaf tin, adjusting the baking time accordingly. Keep in mind that while the cake falls after baking, the pan you use should still have enough room for the batter to rise in the oven.
*I have not tried this cake without eggs and therefore can't guarantee a substitute will work.