Raspberry Swirl Banana Snack Cake

Why make banana bread when you can make banana cake? But really, isn’t it the same thing, the same batter just baked in different pans? The answer is yes, yes it is.

Whatever you call it, (bread, cake, muffins), it is banana and everyone loves it so who the heck cares what it is called. This banana cake is basic with the basic stuff but I decided to add some raspberry jam swirl to the mix. Raspberry jam because well I had raspberry jam and banana and raspberry are a great paring. And I made the swirls into hearts because well I love hearts and also it doesn’t hurt that Valentines day is this weekend so it just made all the since to me. I mean, just look at it. It is a stunner of a cake if I do say so myself. And I know that it taste just as good, especially since the mr ate half of it in one day.

Again, people love them their banana cake (bread, and or muffins) so you really can’t go wrong with this one.

Now to the banana cake!

The stuff. Ripe and ready bananas, flour, baking soda and powder, salt, sugar, oil, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, and raspberry jam.

So now make the batter. Peel bananas and mash them up in a big bow with a fork. Pretty mashed up, almost pureed but with some small chunks. Add in the oil, sugar, vanilla, and vinegar and mix until mixed then add in the dry and mix everything is incorporated.

Banana cake batter.

Dump batter into a well greased cake pan.

Now warm up the jam for a few seconds in the microwave just so it thins out a little. Not completely luquid, just lose. Take a small spoon and dollop jam all over top of batter.

Now to make the jam heart swirls, all you do is take a sharp knife, stick it into the jam blobs and pull down. They might not be perfect but that is perfect. And if you don’t care for hearts just swirl sharp knife all around the blobs to look however the way you want it to look.

Once swirls, pop the cake into a the hot oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is a nice deep golden brown and a tester comes out.

Just look at that. Gorgeous! Let cool for a few minutes then carefully pop it out of the pan and let it finish cooling on a wire rack.

Now you eat cake.

-C

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Raspberry Swirl Banana Snack Cake

makes a 10 inch round cake

• 2 cups all purpose or white whole wheat flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 3 bananas

• 1/2 cup oil

• 3/4 cup white sugar

• 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 2 heaping tablespoons raspberry jam (can substitute any flavor jam you want)

Preheat oven to 350

Peel bananas and place into a large bowl. With a fork, mash until pureed. Some chunks are good, but not too chunky. Add in the oil, sugar, vanilla, and vinegar. Mix until completely incorporated. Add in the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt gently mix into wet until just incorporated then dump into a greased 9-10 inch round cake pan. (You can use a rectangle if you want)

Grab jam and heat up in microwave for 20-30 seconds or until warm and it has become more lose but not super runny. Take a small spoon and add dollops of the lose jam all over top of cake. Take a sharp knife and run it through each dollop into the cake to create a heart. Or just run the knife through all the jam blobs and swirl it around.

Pop cake into hot oven and bake for 45-55 minutes or until top of cake is a nice deep brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

Remove form oven and let cool in pan for a few minutes then carefully remove cake form pan place on a wore rack to finish cooling.

Eat whenever.

Sore in airtight container on counter or 3-4 days. Or refrigerator a week.

White Bean Banana Bread

The other night at a dinner with my family, I was explaining to my dad ans sisters about a cookie that I have been making for myself that is coconut flour, sweet potato and lentils (I'll share that recipe at some point) and all those ass faces were making fun of me. They couldn't understand how I could make anything taste like a cookie with lentils. And not going to lie, I was slightly offended , not for myself but on the lentils behalf. Lentils can do and be anything!

Fast forward to the next nights dinner (we had a lot a family dinners). I was in charge of a dessert.  I had recently took a trip to the store where the bananas where on sale for .30 a pound... So I bough a few (like 20) and had quite a few ripe naners that were in need of being consumed. Banana bread is it. And because I was going to prove my point to the fam that they are all asses and have no idea about anything, I made the bread with beans in it. (the lentils are for me)

Long store short.. The bread was excepted into the mouths of the people with smiles ans yums. No one had any idea that there was anything different about it, only that is was so fantastic and that it was gone within the hour. I did tell everyone after the first few bites that I made it with beans and a lot less sugar then most but no one cared. The kids were actually excited that it had beans in it because it meant that they could have seconds. My dad asked for the recipe, and the rest of the people.. well they didn't care, just ate it and yeah.

See, beans in bread is a great idea.. So what do you think of my lentil cookies now? HA

To the bread. Go banana bean, GO!

The stuff. We got some flour in a bowl with baking powder, baking soda, and a pinch of salt. Then we have a few ripe bananas, a cup of beans (in bean water), a bit of oil, brown sugar, some cinnamon, and a nip of vanilla.

There should be apple cider vinegar in there.... so pretend it is.

Start off by blending 1 of the bananas up with the beans (use you blending method of choice)  until pretty smooth (some chunks are fine, just not super bean chunks)

Then add in the second banana and mash it in, but leave it chunky (I just used the blender part to mash it up... why dirty a fork?)

Not into chunky, then blend it as well, the chunky/ smooth factor is up to you.

The rest of the wet stuff goes into the bowl (don't forget the vinegar) and gets all mixed together with the naner beans.

Then the wet goes into the dry.

And mixed up until just incorporated.

Dump the mixtureinto a well greased bread pan. Grab that third banana and cut it length wise into thirds and press the pieces into the top of the mixture. This step is optional and also open to interpretation. The designs a banana can make.............

And into the oven it goes!

Baked to a golden perfection, remove from he oven and set to cool.

And after completely cooled (f you can wait that long) grab a knife, cut yourself a hunk, and go about your day knowing you made the right choice by eating sweet ass banana bread that happens to have a good does of beans in it.

One could almost consider this a health food! (almost)

-Have yourself a fine day

-C

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White Bean Banana Bread

Makes one loaf

• 2 cups white whole wet or regular all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup oil (like canola)
• 2 ripe bananas (plus optional 1 for topping)
• 1 cup white beans in the bean juice
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375

In a large bowl, combine the flour with the baking soda and powder, the a salt, and the cinnamon. In either the blender or a separate bowl using a hand blender, blend on of the bananas with the beans and bean water until pretty smooth. Once blended, mash in the remaining banana (can puree until smooth if you are not into chunks of banana) Now mix in the oil, vinegar, vanilla and the sugar. Mix until combined then mix into the dry until just combined.

Pour batter into a well greased bread pan and if you want, slice the extra banana into thirds and gently press into the top of the batter. And now stick it into the oven. Bake until golden brown and all pretty like and a tester stick in the middle comes out clean. (about 50 minutes)

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for a few minutes then flip out and let cool completely on a wire rack. When cooled, slice it on up into desired thickness and eat away, whether it be naked (you or the bread) or smothered with peanut butter, jam, butter or whatever.

Cooled bread is fine on the counter covered for a day but should be stored in a air tight bag in the fridge if longer then that..