Dark Chocolate Banana Fudge Cake

For some reason I have been having a bunch of leftover bananas lately - I'm not sure if it’s because of that lingering humidity from the summer, or because we just aren't eating as many as we used to, but I feel like I come home at the end of a week to a good handful of really ripe bananas. I always end up throwing them in the fridge and plan to just use them later. More often than not, I peel and dice them up for smoothies, but since I tend to drink fewer smoothies in the fall and winter, I wanted to bake up something yummy, almost as a dessert for this week. I love nothing more than a slice of banana bread, warmed up with a little nut butter or butter. It’s just so damn good! And since I usually make muffins, I figured let’s make a loaf this time instead. I definitely wasn't disappointed.

I also want to point out that I made this batter in my blender - that's it. Keeping it easy for clean-up and pouring into a loaf pan. I first started with 4 small bananas, vanilla, nut butter, a little melted DF butter and eggs. I used peanut butter as that’s what I had on hand, but it doesn't taste peanut buttery at all. You could definitely use any other nut butter, or coconut butter.

Once blended, I added in a little GF flour and the remaining ingredients, except for the chocolate chips. You could certainly add in the chips, but I thought it'd be fun to just have them on top. I give it a quick whiz in the blender and it’s ready to pour. In a parchment lined and greased loaf pan, I poured in the batter and topped down the center the chocolate chips.

You'll want this to bake for quite some time as it’s a very light and liquid batter - that’s part of what keeps it so fluffy. I bake at 400 for about 45 minutes, but could bake up to one hour as I prefer mine a little more moist. I also covered it with some aluminum foil about halfway through so it wouldn't burn on top. It's done when a knife can come out cleanly. Allow it to cool completely before cutting into it. It had a beautiful rise to the loaf, and makes awesome leftovers!

Dark Chocolate Banana Fudge Cake (DF/GF)

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 bananas

• 3 eggs

• ½ cup nut butter (I used peanut butter)

• 3 tablespoons melted DF butter or coconut oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ cup GF flour

• 1/3 cup cacao powder

• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1/2 cup DF chocolate chips for topping

• Optional: 1 teaspoon espresso powder (brings out the chocolate flavor!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a loaf pan with parchment paper and grease lightly.

2. In a blender add all of the wet ingredients and blend until smooth.

3. Add in remaining dry ingredients except for the chocolate chips and blend until smooth. If you want to mix in the chocolate, pulse lightly.

4. Pour batter into loaf pan and top with chocolate chips.

5. Bake for 45 minutes, covering with aluminum foil halfway through. If you prefer it a little less moist of a cake, bake for 60 minutes.

6. Allow to cool before cutting and eating. Best served warm.

xx

Rita