Multigrain Banana Cake

 

I made this cake a while ago (I mentioned it here), but the memory of its satisfyingly delicious simplicity lingers on. It’s sweet, but not too. It’s moist from the bananas, but not so. It’s healthy-ish because of the whole grain flour, but, well, come on. It’s still dessert.

I based this on a cake recipe in Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce. That recipe is made with quinoa flour and ground walnuts, which I’m sure is fabulous. I wanted to try a 7-grain flour blend I picked up, though, and I had some bananas of a certain age, so this seemed a good place to put them both. I also put in some chocolate chips in place of the walnuts. Purely a personalized design decision.

 

There are a couple of ways you could go with the whole grain addition to this dessert, or one like it. I like the convenience of the ready-made 7-grain product I purchased, and will use it again in other recipes. I did, however, miss the malty tones of the multigrain mixture I talked about in this post (also based on Good to the Grain). The 7-grain also had a coarser texture that may have matched some ground nuts well. Really, all kinds of whole grain flours would work here, even just whole wheat flour, so you can try anything with a flavor that appeals to you.

This cake lasted well for several days as two of us polished it off wedge by wedge. I seriously considered making a chocolate cream cheese frosting for it, but it really wasn’t necessary. Not that necessity has much to do with desserts. Maybe I will gild this simple cake with some frosting some day, but until then, I recommend it as a perfectly good snacking cake of little effort and much reward.

Multigrain Banana Cake with Chocolate Chips

Adapted from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce

1 cup 7-grain flour (or multigrain flour of your choice)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup dark brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

3 medium-size ripe bananas (about 1 ¼ pounds), mashed

2 large eggs

1/3 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan or spray it with cooking spray. Dust the buttered pan with flour. Cut a circle of parchment paper the size of the pan (trace the pan right on the paper) and place it in the bottom of the pan. Butter and flour the paper.

2. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, and salt. Sift or whisk together to combine well. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or another medium-size bowl if you are using a hand mixer) combine the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Using the paddle attachment, beat together for about 2 minutes, or until light and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

4. Beat in the mashed bananas. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Beat in the yogurt and vanilla.

5. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until just combined, being sure to moisten any flour that is at the bottom of the bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes or until a pick inserted in the center comes out free of wet batter. Cool the cake in the pan until it is at least cool enough to serve. Remove from the pan and remove the parchment circle. Cut into wedges to serve.

Makes 8-12 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Banana Quick Bread, Blueberry Banana Quick Bread, Zucchini Multigrain Coffee Cake

One year ago: Cabbage and Turnip Soup with Beef Broth