Plant-based Coconut Banana Cake – Decadent and Light!

 What do you do with a bunch of overripe bananas? You can freeze them to save for green smoothies ...Or you could make banana bread...

Last weekend, I co-hosted a Thrive 'N Shine dinner party with Jon McMahon of the iThrive docu-series. This night was all about honoring the newly plant-based #IronMind star Brian Rose, and his challenger, John Joseph, who is the vegan rock star, and author of Meat Is For Pussies (a real eye-opener for men about the power of plants).

These men are each doing incredible work in the world, which I'd love to tell you more about in a future post. It was an absolute joy to cook for them and then connect over the delicious meal.

As I was making lots of Carribean food the last couple weeks to prepare for this plant-powered night, I realized we needed a dessert to serve with this tropical feast! After such a grueling 70.3 mile swim, bike, and run, of course, the triathletes would be ready for something incredibly rich and decadent.

Honestly, I think the world needs more plant-based dessert recipes that don't still have processed flour, sugar, oil, and salt. So although I don't do much baking for myself, I was more than happy to experiment with this recipe.

This was the inspiration for my coconut-laden banana cake, and what a success it was!​

Everyone loved it, quickly taking seconds and even thirds if they get their hands on it!

I hope you enjoy this 100% plant-based Coconut Banana Cake as much we did!

Cheers to consciously indulging!

Coconut Banana Cake

By Chef Katie Mae

Makes 8-12 servings | Ready in 1 hour | Stores 1 week in the fridge

FOR THE CAKE

• 1¼ cups quinoa
• 1¼ cups rolled oat
• 1½ tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 14oz canned coconut milk
• 1½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 6 Medjool dates, pitted
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• ½ cup applesauce
• 3 medium to large over-ripe bananas

FOR THE FROSTING

• 1½ cup raw, unsalted cashews
• ½ cup water
• 4 Medjool dates, pitted
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla or butternut extract

EXTRA TOPPINGS

• ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 medium to large over-ripe bananas, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. Add quinoa and rolled oats to a blender or food processor. Blend until the grains have turned to flour. Transfer the flour to a medium bowl.
2. In the empty blender, combine the ground flax, coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, and dates. Wait to blend.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper, making sure the sides are covered. You can cut slits in the paper along the sides so it overlaps and lies flat.
4. Add the baking powder, ginger, and shredded coconut to the bowl of flour and stir.
5. Add the applesauce and bananas to the blender, and blend until smooth. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until the batter has an even consistency, making sure to incorporate all of the flour at the bottom of the bowl.
6. Using a spatula, pour the batter into the paper-lined pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool at room temperature for 10 minutes before frosting.
7. Add all of the frosting ingredients to a blender and blend until creamy. Spread the frosting over the top of the cake.
8. Sprinkle the remaining shredded coconut over the frosting, and then arrange the banana slices on top. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

CHEF'S NOTES

This recipe can also be made into bars instead of cake. There's enough batter to fill a 9x13 inch pan. The pieces will be a little shorter but that just means your frosting to cake ratio will be a little greater, and I don't think anyone will complain about that!