Banana, Almond & Chocolate Cake

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We are in Copenhagen this week. Although we haven’t talked much about it on the blog, it was a big decision for Luise to move up from Copenhagen to Stockholm for our relationship. I might have promised her mom that I would bring her back after a year, but it has now been more than, ehm, six years…

Anyone that has moved abroad knows what a challenge it can be. Luise still has many of her closest friends and family in Denmark and she lights up like fireworks every time we are here. It literally took her 2 minutes to start talking with a complete stranger on the train from the airport. So this week we are pretending that we are a Copenhagen family. If all goes well, we plan to move here by the time Elsa starts school. We are staying in a cute little apartment on the 5th floor on Vesterbro and Luise drags her 8 months pregnant body up all the stairs with the biggest smile on her lips.

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First time I baked this cake was a few weeks back when Luise craved a chocolate cake on a regular Tuesday. Her biggest craving during this pregnancy has been watermelon, so when she finally wanted something else, I was happy to bake something for her (and Elsa and myself!).

We shot this before we left, but to make sure that I had the measurements right, I baked it again just last night. I couldn’t find any baking pans in this apartment’s small pantry kitchen and had to bake it in a sauce pan, but it also turned out just great. So this recipe truly has been tried and tested.

It can best be described as a chocolate and almond version of a banana bread/cake. The ingredient list is short and the method very uncomplicated and will therefore suit all type of bakers. The cake has a rich bitterness to it from all the cacao and works especially well with some fresh strawberries and a dollop of yogurt. It holds up well in the fridge and actually tastes even better on the second day. For the photos, I covered it in a cappuccino ganache, but it’s entirely optional. The cake is naturally gluten free and dairy free. I haven’t tried to make it vegan this time, but if anyone tries and succeeds, please leave a comment and tell us your method for replacing the eggs.

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Banana, Almond & Chocolate Cake
10 servings

This recipe calls for a lot of cacao, so make sure to choose a good tasting one. It’s a quite small cake but very rich, so 10 servings should still be enough.

200 g / 2 cups / 500 ml almond flour
25 g / 1/3 cup / 6 tbsp unsweetened cacao powder 
1 tsp baking powder
sea salt
2 eggs
2 bananas
1/3 cup / 80 ml cold pressed rapeseed oil or olive oil
1/2 cup / 120 ml maple syrup or honey

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F.
Add almond flour, cacao powder, baking powder and sea salt to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Crack the eggs into a medium size mixing bowl and beat for about a minute. Mash the bananas with a fork and add to the eggs together with oil and syrup. Beat until all is well combined. Add the wet ingrediens to the dry ingrediens and use a whisk to stir until everything is mixed. Grease a small/medium size baking pan with oil. Mix a little almond flour with cacao powder and coat the sides with the mixture to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan. Pour the batter into the greased form and bake for about 45 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely before carefully tilting it out of the pan and adding the ganache. Serve with fresh berries and a dollop of turkish yogurt.

Cappuccino Ganache
80 g / 3 oz dark chocolate (70%)
1 single shot (4 cl) hot espresso or strong brewed coffee
4 tbsp heated milk of choice (plant based or regular)

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. Pour the hot espresso and heated milk over the chocolate and leave for a minute to melt. Use a spoon to stir until completely smooth. Pour the ganache over the cake and watch as is firms up. If the ganache thickens before you have poured it over the cake, you can melt it again over a water bath.

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Ps. This is completely unrelated to chocolate, but we have posted a new recipe for a post-workout hemp shake on our youtube channel.

 

158 Comments

  • Linda
    I have what I believe to be a silly question. Is almond meal and almond flour the same thing? I feel like the almond meal would be too heavy in this dish. I am NOT a baker (not a fan of measuring) but I love to cook! Anyone have an answer for me? Best of luck with the move!
  • Lori
    I am going to make this but wanted to know is there a specific size flute pan you used? how deep should the flute cavities be?
  • Gabriela Gonzalez
    Hello! I've baked a chocolate cake last week as well,and I'm delighted to say that an egg subtitude could be either pureed silken tofu:) It works perfectly,as it holds everything together!I used normal tofu and then smashed it and it work perfectly as well!
  • I so very understand the feeling Luise is going through – as an Italian living in London, nothing feels like going back 'home', seeing my family and friends and just living in a place that feels familiar. That said, I am just back from a beautiful trip to Copenhagen and I was truly mesmerised by the beauty of the city, the slow pace of life and the kindness of people. I would gladly go back and spend more time there soon! the cake looks just like my kind of cake – anything banana/maple/almond and I am sold! thanks for sharing.
  • Jenny
    Made this last night! Delicious!!
  • Gemma
    Enjoy your week! I moved to CPH from Australia some years back and am really enjoying life here. I just made this, using coconut oil and making 12 cupcakes instead of one big cake. I baked them for 18 minutes and they are delicious.
  • What a gorgeous cake! We will be in Copenhagen in 3 weeks and I can´t wait, it will be the first time for us. We will also be staying in an apartment in Vesterbro :) If you have any food recommendations we´re more than happy to know about! The Simple Raw is on top of the list and very close to the apartment, yay!
  • Ann Kathrin Öhrn
    http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/06/01/gluten-free-baguettes-egg-free-and-a-king-arthur-gluten-free-flour-giveaway#more-1906
  • sasha
    if i want to sub the eggs out ( as I eat only plants) could i add more banana's? looking forward to the new book and you tube
  • Vanessa
    I so have to make this :) this weekend for sure (if we are not moving). I understand what it is to move for love, I'm on the other side of the world (come from Peru to Australia), and even when I miss home, this is my new home. All the best, wherever you and little family decide to go :)
  • mette
    Thanks for the Cake. It's was easy to make and very easy to eat.
  • Dominika
    Just making this beauty :-) it's in the oven and smells amazing! Can't wait to try it out :-) btw, I love your recipes!
  • Cyndie
    This cake is lovely ! Where did buy this cute cake pan ?
  • Wow!! Your pictures are just amazing! And This cake seems so delicious!!! Thanks for sharing.
  • Andrea
    Hej, I love your site. Wonderful pictures. I already bought the german version of your book and like it a lot. This cake looks also great. I have one problem (not with the book, but here on the blog): I never know how much you mean with tbsp. Is it the size of a tablespoon you take to stir coffee or more like a spoon you take to eat a soup? Mange tai for helping me. Hej hej , Andrea (:-) since 3 months I am learning danish for our next Denmark trip. Not that easy)
    • Timm
      hey andrea. ich gehe mal davon aus,dass du deutsch verstehst. um dir die löffel-frage zu beantworten: tbsp (tablespoon) heisst esslöffel tsp (teaspoon) heisst teelöffel ansonsten bei volumen- und mengenangaben einfach mal googlen. z.B. "cup in gramm/ml"
      • Andrea
        Hallo Timm, herzlichen Dank. Manchmal hilft genaues schauen weiter: es war mir gar nicht aufgefallen das da mal tbsp. und mal tsp. steht. Wieder was dazugelernt. Ich hatte mein Glück schon bei leo.org probiert, da steht zwar total viel, half mir aber nicht weiter. Also nochmals vielen Dank, Andrea
    • Hi Andrea, tsp means teaspoon (that you use in a coffee cup) and is equal to 5 ml. Tbsp means tablespoon (that you eat soup with) and is equal to 15 ml. Hope this will make things clearer. /David
      • Sarah Alhamad
        Hi David, One more thing: 6 tablespoons of comes to 50g, not 25g as stated above, therefore 25g of cocoa powder is in fact 3tbsp.
  • Rebecka
    Made this today and it was awesome! Could you maybe do a post with some food photography tips? your photos are amazingly good!
  • Mina
    Looks amazingly deliciousss... I can so relate to you... I live far away from my family, just had my second child (a week old), had cravings for watermelon during my pregnancy and also love copenhagen. Hope to bake this soon, in between juggling two kids ;-) ...we love your recipes!!! We just had the watermelon gazpacho and the moroccon salad for lunch ;-)
  • Good to hear you're enjoying Copenhagen. Probably the last trip with only the three of you! And it's such a coincidence for me, since I just got back from my first trip to Copenhagen ever. Despite the weather I completely fell in love with the city and its food. And I stayed in Vesterbro as well, such a lovely "urban feel" area. Have you been to Atelier September? Their avocado sandwich was seriously the best I ever had... Also, love the look and sound of this cake. Definitely bookmarking this.
  • Such a gorgeous cake and beautiful photography! http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
  • I am definitely trying this recipe & will bookmark it for reference! :) It looks too yummy, to not to try...
  • beth
    We also moved from Copenhagen to Stockholm for my partner's job. I vividly remember the day he told me that he might interview with a Stockholm-based agency. "Well we're not moving up there," I said. "But it's a great job," he said. We were sitting at the dining table of our tiny, but cute, apartment in Nørrebro. In the end, I told him that he could take that interview if he wanted, but I was NOT moving to Stockholm. And then just 3 weeks after that, I found myself in Malmö boarding an SL train to Stockholm with 2 huge suitcases that contained everything I owned. It was not an easy transition. We're in our 6th year here and have faced (are still facing) so many challenges. Living abroad is not what people think. It's certainly not what I thought it would be. Thanks for sharing your story - and this recipe. I look forward to trying it, though I love your beetroot chocolate cake, and I still want to make your turmeric muffins first. Bought some bananas yesterday. Just waiting for them to ripen... Anyway, hello from your Stockholm neighbor. I see you guys around Söder all the time but am too shy to say hello in real life - lame, I know.
  • This cake fits my pregnancy cravings just perfectly. Thanks for sharing. I will be making it ASAP.
  • sasha
    Hi! I adore the beautiful photos and recipes on your blog- but I am allergic to nuts, is there an almond-meal substitute that would work?
  • This is beautiful - what a stunning cake! I love how you inspire people to cook using wholesome ingredients. It has made my transition across to becoming a vegetarian a very joyful process! Thank you. Lots of love. Jo
  • Sylvie
    i just love reading your family stories. and this cake looks gorgeous. can't wait to try this recipe.
  • Faye
    This cake looks so good! Do you know if the shot of coffee is necessary? Can the ganache work without it?
    • Hi Faye, you don't need coffee in the ganache. Simply replace it with the same amount of hot milk. You can add a nub of butter or coconut oil to it if you want the ganache to be more shiny. /David
  • These images are simply stunning. So perfectly moody and decadent. Swoon.

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