Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Cake

   

      A friend made some gluten-free cupcakes for her son's birthday and the recipe that she used is from a cookbook that I really love but that I had completely forgotten about. I don't know if that ever happens to you, but it happens to me all the time! I have soooooo many cookbooks that I love but not enough time to use them all. I end up using the same one over and over again and forgetting about the others until something like this cupcake happens. 

     I am trying to cut down on the carbs that I eat and feed to my family, but it is so hard! I love chocolate, and I mean LOVE chocolate! Give me some chocolate and sugar and you have a friend for life. But since I know that sugar is bad, and we are NOT going to talk about chocolate, I have been trying to find recipes that use stevia instead. Now, I have found many recipes that call for stevia, but I also want them to taste good. I know, I want it all, to have my cake or dessert and eat it, too! How dare me, right?! 

     So here I am making recipes from a gluten-free cookbook, "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook", by Elana Amsterdam,  and then remaking it with less sweetener. I try to follow the recipe the first time that I make it, but this does not always happen. I only made 1 substitution this time, but rest assured that I have more substitutions planned for next time! The recipe called for grapeseed oil but I used butter instead. I mean lets face it, butter makes everything better! Right?! The next time that I make this I am planning on using 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey and some stevia instead of the agave nectar. I will let you know how it turns out! I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we have.

Ingredients:

3 cups blanched almond meal

1/2 t. sea salt

1 t. baking soda

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup agave nectar

3 large eggs

1 T. vanilla

1 cup dark chocolate (73% cacao), coarsely chopped, I used bitter sweet chocolate

1 cup (2 to 3) mashed very ripe bananas

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch cake pan with butter and dust with almond flour.

In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, agave nectar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Fold in the chocolate and bananas. Scoop the batter into the prepared cake pan.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 1 hour, then serve. Enjoy!