BANANA CHOCOLATE CAKE

 Thanksgiving has come and gone. Well, maybe for you but not for us. We will be celebrating Thanksgiving on December 3rd this year because of Covid. But that will be fine. One thing I have learned the last few years of my life is you can celebrate anything on any day and it can still be meaningful. 

Since we didn't go to our younger son Patrick's house on Thursday, I C to make a cake for just us to have something "sweet" in the house to eat. Wayne ate a banana the other day and told me the rest were ready to use to make something. I only eat bananas when they are still a little green. Then I leave them for him to eat. I remembered seeing a recipe that called for bananas so I told him "perfect".

This recipe for Banana Chocolate Cake was in an old Cooking Light magazine that I was going through. I used the sugar substitutes as recommended by the recipe and used skim milk for the powdered milk. My baking cocoa was the Special Dark so my cake was darker, richer looking than the one with the recipe. The last change I made was decorating the top with whole half pecans. I thought it made the cake look decadent. Will have to do it more often.

PRINT recipe here.

BANANA CHOCOLATE CAKE

Sugar substitute equivalent to 3/4 cup sugar (I used 1 cup of stevia.)

1/3        cup packed brown sugar (I used brown sugar complete)

1/3        cup butter, softened

2           eggs

2           teaspoons vanilla extract

2           medium bananas, mashed (1 cup)

1/2        cup skim milk

1-1/3     cup flour

3           tablespoons baking cocoa (I used Special Dark cocoa)

1           teaspoon baking powder

1/2        teaspoon baking soda

1/2        teaspoon salt

3/4        teaspoon powdered sugar (optional)

12+       half pecans wholes (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees  F. Lightly spray an 9 - inch square baking pan. (I used an 8" square pan so my cake was thicker.) Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar substitute, brown sugar, and butter on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Add eggs and vanilla;

mix well.

Add bananas and milk;

mixing well.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with a whisk. Add to sugar mixture, beating just until blended.

Pour into prepared pan.

Arrange pecan halves on top.

Bake for 23 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean and edges of the cake are just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Cool on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Cut in squares to serve.

Add a scoop of ice cream, if desired.

Store covered in the refrigerator.