This is one of the most easiest and quickest cakes I have ever made.  When I say “Vegan Banana Cake”, it might sound like the cake may not be the same as the ones with eggs and butter regarding consistency and taste.  But believe me, even I was a bit reluctant to make this since the recipe does not call for any oil/butter or even sugar.  But I think I was lucky enough to 4 large over ripped bananas sitting on my counter top begging to be used.  I got this recipe from the whole foods market site but never attempted to make.  So this weekend to finish off the bananas I thought to give it a try.  To my surprise it came out so good – soft and moist with enough sweetness that comes from the bananas, dates and the shredded coconut.  And of course there is no egg smell (which I hate in cakes and especially when washing the bowls)

The original recipe called for 1/2 cup cocoa powder.  Since I am not a fan of strong cocoa powder taste, I reduced it to 1/4 cup and replaced the other 1/4 cup with whole wheat flour.  Also the original specifically called for unsweetened coconut.  But I decided to use the sweetened since the cake does not have any sugar.  All in all, I was so happy that I made this one and I will be making this more often.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 4 oz dates roughly chopped
• ½ cup light (thin) coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 large bananas
• 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• ¼ cup walnuts chopped

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a 8×8 baking ban with parchment paper and grease lightly.
• In a large bowl mix together cocoa powder, oat flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, walnuts and salt and set aside.
• Add bananas, dates, coconut milk, water, vanilla extract to a blender and puree until dates are chopped into small pieces and the mixture is thick and smooth.
• Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the banana puree and slowly and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Do not overmix.
• Pour into the prepared pan and generously sprinkle with coconut
• Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Cool in pan on a wire rack until room temperature is reached.
• Cut into squares and store in a airtight container in a cool place for about 2-3 days.

Note: if you don’t have oat flour, you can grind old fashioned rolled oats in a grinder to flour consistency.  Actually that is what I did since I did not have oat flour and