This cake always brings back memories of when I lived in Nepal. I used to bake it once a month for a regular trail-race competition I used to participate in. Each runner in the competition got a piece of my Banana Power Bite to energize before the long run. One thing to real quick mention here – participating in these trail running series made me realize that I should just stick with baking, rather than try to compete at running 😀

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The idea was to create a bar or bite that would provide athletes with the much-needed energy prior to heavy physical activity without making them full and heavy. My goal was to create a great-tasting bar or piece of cake, containing the best ingredients available, and because I had to feed each month around a hundred participants, it must have been fairly easy to prepare. After a couple of trials and experiments with ingredients and ratios, the Banana Power Bite was finally here – meeting my expectations. A slice of a cake or a bar, packed with nutritious ingredients and full of healthy fats, with naturally occurring fructose and a touch of sucrose to help to go in the long run and of course, with a great taste to enjoy every bite of it. 

And if you’d like to turn this recipe into a cake for a celebration or a party, simply bake it in a round-shape baking pan and decorate it with crushed nuts for a festive looking dessert. 

A note to ingredients: I was using three different kinds of nut butters to balance the flavors and nutritional profile as well as to be able to enhance the naturally-occurring sweet taste without using too much sugar. Feel free, though, to use a combination of nut butters that you like or have at home

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INGREDIENTS

200g Bananas – flesh only, without a peel

30g Almond Butter

30g Cashew Butter

20g Peanut Butter

20g Oat Flour

15g Honey

10g Coconut Oil, melted

1/2 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Pinch of Salt

Chocolate Topping

50g Dark Chocolate

10g Coconut Oil

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METHOD

1. Place all wet ingredients (Bananas, Nut Butters, Honey, Coconut Oil) into a blender or mixer and blend until smooth – then transfer into a mixing bowl

2. Stir in Oat Flour, Cinnamon, Salt & Baking soda and mix until well incorporated. Pour the batter into a greased pan – both round or square pan works as well as a loaf pan. The cake should be baked preferably in a bigger and flatter baking pan rather than in a smaller and deeper one in order to bake it fast and not to dry it out

3. Bake at 370° F for ~ 20-30 minutes and test if the cake is done using a skewer. The cake can stay slightly moist in the center but the edges should be dry – it will keep baking from the residual heat even after taking out from the oven

4. Melt Dark Chocolate with Coconut Oil in a small pot over boiling water or carefully! in your microwave and pour evenly on top of the cake. Let the cake cool down for at least 1 hour. Decorate with crushed pistachios or almonds, rose petals or nothing at all if you plan to take the cake with you outdoors. Cut into squares or slices and enjoy. The cake should be slightly moist and chewy in the center. Store in an airtight container for up to three days and I don’t recommend freezing it

Dobrú chuť,
Lenka