Banana Cake with Berries (gluten, nut, soy, dairy and cane sugar free)

Happy Easter!

Need a recipe for Easter morning or dessert? This recipe makes great use of over-ripe bananas. The healthy cake can even be made the night before for a better, sweeter flavor!

A little coconut flour goes a long way. It certainly doesn't behave like other flours but I love what it does when combined with pumpkin or banana. I've subscribed to Nutiva brand coconut flour on amazon and that way I never run out!

For a fluffier and lighter variation on the cake: Try separating the yolks from the egg whites and beating the egg whites until fluffy with the cream of tartar. Combine remaining ingredients in separate bowl. Then spoon egg whites in rest of batter and bake.

If you're looking for a vegan banana cake recipe, try the Chai-spiced Banana Breakfast Cake here on the blog. It's super delicious and egg-free!

This recipe was inspired by Coconut Banana Breakfast Cake in Nourishing Meals: Healthy Gluten-Free Recipes for the Whole Family, one of my favorite cookbooks.

Banana Cake with Berries
3/4 cup coconut flour (I used Nutiva brand)
2 TB flaxseeds
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda              > instead of using tartar and baking soda, try 2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon (optional and may substitute 1 tsp nutmeg if avoiding cinnamon but want spice)

1 TB vanilla extract
8 eggs
4 very ripe bananas
3 TB coconut oil (melted)

Berries and Whipped Coconut Cream to serve (optional)
*For sweeter variation, add 3-4 TB maple syrup or other liquid sweetener to batter.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9x13" pan or two round cake pans or muffin pan.
2. Combine first six ingredients in mixing bowl. Mash bananas and combine remaining four ingredients in separate mixing bowl.
3. Combine batters and pour into pans. Bake 30-40 minutes or until the middle of the cake is no longer jiggly.
Enjoy!

And Happy Easter to you all! God's not dead! Hallelujah!

Dark Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Eggs or free-from Chocolate Dipped Marshmallow Root Marshmallows

I love homemade marshmallow root marshmallows sweetened with honey. They are super yummy and rarely last long in my house!

For Easter, I wanted to try my hand at resurrection cookies (here is a great recipe from Fabulessly Frugal) or gluten and dairy-free resurrection rolls but I kept coming back to marshmallows. And when I made my free-form marshmallows I didn't want to melt them in doughy rolls for the resurrection rolls. I wanted to eat them... all of them.

So I dipped them in chocolate.

Except I dipped half of them because only half survived our marshmallow-stuffing faces.

I'm deciding I should make these more often because then we'll be used to them and they'll last longer. Right? RIGHT?

These are so fun.

And no, they are not perfect egg shapes. But you can buy an egg mold if perfection is your thing (find an egg mold on amazon or rabbit mold would be fun too - they also have cross mold but that feels funny to me).

Which leads me to ask... Do those who are Christ-followers participate in American Easter traditions such as egg hunting or egg baskets? Or do you ignore those to focus on the real reason? Or do you balance both? Having fun traditions but bringing the real reason back to Jesus?

I think egg hunting and baskets are a fun game (Big Blue Eyes liked doing this all summer last year) but I want our main focus to be on Jesus and the glorious, awesome fact He's not dead! I'm interested to hear everyone else's opinions!

The marshmallow root marshmallow recipe is this recipe (currently updated as some readers had a few questions). However, this time I didn't use a candy thermometer (broke after making my licorice recipe) and just boiled it seven minutes in step #5. And instead or pouring into a pan, I dropped large spoonfuls onto a lightly oiled (with coconut oil) parchment paper for free-form marshmallows. This free-form idea comes from David Lebovitz's picture from his recipe of lovely little marshmallow blobs. He suggests topping lemon tarts with these blobs instead of meringue (what a great idea)!

My marshmallows were a little sticky because I didn't coat them with marshmallow root powder or shredded coconut (as my recipe states) or powdered sugar (as so many other recipes state). I felt I didn't need the extra sugar because these are plenty sweet and I didn't want the crunch of the shredded coconut. However having dipped them in chocolate it doesn't really quite matter. But if you plan to just make the free-forms and don't want the stickiness then consider using suggestions mentioned above. If you come up with other ideas, please let me know!

I used Great Lakes Kosher Gelatin (as I was writing this I realized I actually used Great Lakes porcine gelatin but next time I plan to use kosher gelatin because a lot of my family chooses not to eat pork).

I buy my marshmallow root powder from Mountain Rose Herbs. And for other marshmallow recipes, check out my marshmallow root round-up.

And the recipe:

Dark Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Eggs
or free-form chocolate dipped marshmallow root marshmallows

1/2 batch marshmallow root marshmallows (from this recipe and dropped onto a parchment pour instead of poured into pan if you want egg-shapes)

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand is dairy-free)*
3 TB coconut oil

1. Let freshly made marshmallows sit for at least two hours.
2. In double broiler, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil.
3. With a fork, dunk one marshmallow. Flip quickly to completely coat marshmallow and use fork to remove it, tapping against broiler to remove excess chocolate.
4. Put on parchment-lined tray or plate and put in fridge for at least 30 minutes. Enjoy!

I decided to keep the marshmallows in my fridge.

This recipe makes 10-12 dipped marshmallows (or more depending on size).

*You can also use a chopped dark-chocolate bar.

 

I buy all my herbs including marshmallow root powder from Mountain Rose Herbs. 

Cardamom Yogurt Almond Cake with Strawberries and Pistachios for Garnish (Dairy-free and gluten-free)

Nothing quite like a moist cardamom cake. I just love cardamom and its bright yet still spicy flavor. I think you'll like this cake too!

The only flour used in this cake is almond flour making this treat protein-rich! If you can't find almond flour in store, consider purchasing online (which can save you money). Amazon sells several brandsof which Blanched Almond Meal Flour, 5 lbs has great reviews.

Serve with strawberries and chopped pistachios for a pretty presentation! A lovely treat for Mother's Day or Easter.

Cardamom Yogurt Almond Cake with Strawberries and Pistachios
Ingredients
2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup flaxseed
2 tsp baking powder
6 cardamom pods
1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup coconut yogurt (I used So Delicious plain coconut yogurt)
2 eggs
1/2 cup evaporated cane sugar
Zest from 1 Lemon
2 tsp vanilla

For garnish: Strawberries and Pistachios

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Break pods of cardamom and save seeds within. Grind flaxseeds and cardamom seeds in a coffee grinder.
3. Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients in seperate bowl.
4. Whisk wet into dry and keep stirring until well-incorporated.
5. Bake in pie plate or 9" cake pan for 40 minutes.

Enjoy!