Chocolate Banana + Date Cake ~ gluten- & dairy-free

I’ve just realised that there has been a flurry of sweet recipes on the blog of late, sorry! I promise I do eat other foods too! However, it probably aptly reflects the stage of life I’m at. Breastfeeding a baby seven months on and still around the clock and so I often (well always) have a hankering for baked goods. And so I bake. Well we bake. Isabella and I because she loves it just as much as I do! Often the icing more than the cake itself and always the mixture more than its baked counterpart but she adores being up at the bench with me and I adore watching her creativity blossom up there too.

This Chocolate, Banana + Date Cake has been on high repeat in our household. It’s a humble and delicious one-bowl wonder that you can ice simply or with more gusto if you’re after a celebration cake. I’ve popped down three icing ideas below and because we’ve made it so much, we’ve had it all three ways a few times now and all are equally delicious! I hope you enjoy it x

Chocolate, Banana + Date Cake – serves 8-10

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free*

½ cup coconut oil, softened(I use Tanna Farms)
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup coconut sugar (NB: you can use 1 cup coconut sugar and omit caster sugar if you’d prefer)
2 eggs
3 medium ripe bananas
10 dried pitted dates, chopped
¾ cup gluten-free baking mix
¾ cup tapioca flour (available at most supermarkets in the baking aisle)
Pinch cinnamon
¼ cup cocoa powder (I use Trade Aid which is 100% cocoa)

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C and line a cake tin with baking paper.
Beat coconut oil, sugars and eggs until creamy and pale.
Add bananas and dates and beat again.
Sift over baking mix, tapioca flour, cinnamon and cocoa and fold together gently.
Pour into lined cake tin and bake for around 40 minutes or until cake is cooked and it springs back gently when touched.
Let cool in the tin for 20 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Ice with one of the three options below.

Icing 1 ~ Maple Mascarpone

200g mascarpone (*Dairy-free, please use coconut yoghurt)
2 Tbspn pure maple syrup
Pinch cinnamon
1 Tbspn black chia seeds

Combine mascarpone, pure maple syrup and cinnamon in a bowl and stir together with a spoon until thick and smooth.
Spread over the cake once cool and sprinkle over chia seeds.

Icing 2 ~ *Dairy-Free Chocolate Ganache by Homegrown Kitchen (recipe originally posted here)

1/2 cup coconut cream
1 Tbspn honey
1 Tbspn Tanna Farms coconut oil
2 Tbspn cocoa powder
50g dark chocolate (70% minimum), broken into pieces
2 Tbspn freeze-dried raspberries - optional

Combine the coconut cream, honey, coconut oil and cocoa in a small saucepan and melt over a gentle heat. Once combined remove from the heat and whisk or stir in the chocolate pieces until melted. Set aside to thicken and cool to room temperature. Once cool, pour the chocolate topping over the cake and spread evenly.
Sprinkle over freeze-dried raspberries if using.

Icing 3 ~ Honey Yoghurt (shown in first image above)

½ cup thick Greek yoghurt (I use Puhoi Valley) (*Dairy-free, use coconut yoghurt)
1-2 Tbspn runny honey
Pinch cinnamon
2 Tbspn whole freeze-dried plums or raspberries
2 Tbspn chocolate drops (*dark for dairy-free)
1 Tbspn black chia seeds