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Sunday, 10 March 2013

Coconut Cake with Banana-Choc Frosting

I decided to make this cake at around midnight last night; a combination of boredom (I was waiting up for my boyfriend to return from a late shift at work), intrigue of the original recipe, and - probably the foremost reason - because today it was, of course, Mother's day.

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Knowing that my mum is a lover of coconut, almond/nuts, bananas and chocolate, making this cake seemed a natural decision in terms of the chief ingredients. And it's mighty healthy, too - that kinda goes without saying, seeing as this is a health/fitness blog, after all. The ingredients aren't too "out there", either (don't you just hate finding a recipe with a huge list of ingredients that you've never even heard of before? Or worse...having every ingredient bar one measly item. A baker's life... it sure is cruel sometimes). You might even find that you have every ingredient already stocked up in your cupboards - in which case, what are you waiting for?

Alas, enough of the rambling already - here are the instructions on how to make this wondrous cake. Delve on in.

Ingredients (CAKE):

3 large eggs
240ml milk of choice (I used almond milk - original recipe suggests coconut milk. My kitchen cupboards didn't concur)
3 heaped tablespoons coconut oil
60ml honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
80g ground almonds ('almond flour')
1 tablespoon coconut flour (I think I added 1 more after for a thicker paste - sometimes it's all about experimental baking/winging it...)
100g shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1/4 teaspoon salt (a pinch should be adequate!)

FROSTING:

1 ripe banana
4 teaspoons cocoa powder
A little added sweetness (1 teaspoon agave/honey)
10g 90% cacao (dark chocolate)
Preheat your oven to 350c, or gas mark 4. Line a couple of round cake tins with parchment paper, nicely greased with coconut oil.

Onto the messy stuff: mix your eggs with the milk, coconut oil (I heated mine so it resembled liquid oil), honey and vanilla extract. I did this by the power of my bare hands and a fork - feel free to use a blender (I won't judge).

In a separate bowl, mix your ground almonds, coconut flour, salt and shredded coconut. Gradually add the liquid ingredients, continually whisking to create a smooth consistency. (NOTE: This is where I thought the mixture was a little too 'liquid-y', thus the extra bit of added coconut flour. The batter afterwards resembled something like the consistency of runny porridge. TOP TIP: use your baker's instinct, and you'll probs get it bang on).

Pour into your baking trays and place into your oven - bake for 30 minutes. I used this waiting time wisely, exercising in the living room...yes, at 12.30am. Wild, I know. You can do the same, or you could prepare your frosting - probably the better and more desirable option of the two.

So, for the frosting; simply mash up your banana as crazily as possible, then add your cocoa powder and a drizzle of honey/agave if you so wish. That's it! Yep, you still have a good 20 minutes to get on those press-ups, girl...

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Once your cake layers are looking spruced up and golden on top, leave them to cook on a wire rack for a good half hour, before spreading the banana-choc frosting on the top of one layer. Place the other layer on top, and you've almost make a cake! The all-important bit is how to decorate the top. You can make some more frosting, but I simply chopped up another, less ripened banana into coins and artfully placed them to cover the cake top. Finally, a drizzle of melted 90% dark chocolate was the icing on the cake (metaphorical and literal), plus an added grated dusting of it as a finishing touch.

I can confirm that this cake went down a treat today. It's light, fluffy in texture, flavoursome, bursting full with goodness, and most definitely hit the spot on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Did you treat your Mum to any tasty culinary delights today? Share your recipes with me, I'd love to find out!

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