Healthy-ish Coconut Banana Cake

Active time: 40 minutes | Bake time: 35 minutes

Okay so I don't usually post healthy dessert recipes because if you're indulging in dessert, you want it to be exceptional! Now, I generally eat healthy foods when I'm NOT eating dessert, so I like to come up with healthier snack ideas which inspired me to come up with a twist on a healthy banana bread. The icing is totally optional because banana bread is truly delicious without icing, but I wanted to make it an option for if you want to take your banana cake up to the next level!

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

• 5 medium overripe bananas, divided

• 108g (½ cup) coconut oil, melted

• 85g (¼ cup) maple syrup

• 2 eggs + 1 yolk

• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

• 90g (¾ cup) all purpose flour

• 90g (¾ cup) whole wheat flour (if you don’t wish to use whole wheat flour, you can just use 180g (1 ½ cup) all purpose flour)

• 1 ½ tsp baking soda

• ¼ tsp salt

• 50g (½ cup) shredded sweetened coconut (also known as desiccated coconut)

• 90g (½ cup) mini chocolate chips

For the Icing:

• 8 ounces (1 block/226g) cream cheese, softened

• 1 ½ tsp vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract

• ¼ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp cinnamon

• 240g (2 cups) powdered sugar

• 1 tbsp heavy cream (or milk)

Directions:

1. For the cake: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9x9 or 7x11 pan with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk about ⅔ of the mashed bananas, coconut oil, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla.

3. Fold in flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined, do not overmix.

4. Fold in remaining mashed bananas, chocolate chips, and coconut flakes until just evenly distributed.

5. Pour your batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-37 minutes, until the center no longer jiggles when the pan is shaken.

6. For the icing: place cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Cream the cream cheese with a spatula, or use a paddle attachment of an electric mixer to mix the cream cheese until it is light and smooth.

7. Add vanilla, salt, powdered sugar, and heavy cream/milk. If you’re using an electric mixer, start by adding half of the powdered sugar. Mix until ingredients are well incorporated, then add other half of the powdered sugar if you’re using an electric mixer and mix until well incorporated.

8. Use a butter knife to add a crumb coat (a very thin layer of icing) on your cake, then add larger amounts of icing and spread out evenly.

   1. If you add too much icing to the cake without a crumb coat, the cake might start to fall apart into your icing. Spreading a very thin layer first helps prevent the cake from crumbling as you ice it.

Notes:

• Store, covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

• If you want to keep this a bit healthier, skip the icing, it is still delicious by itself! If you skip the cream cheese icing, store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.