Banana Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

It has been sunny (gasp) the past 2 days so I was getting worried about the bananas on the counter and decided to make a cake for the guys. A pleasant way to use up 3 bananas!

The recipe is from 1,000 Vegan Recipes, found on page 448. 1,000 Vegan Recipes has been a fun read and well worth picking up a copy.

Banana Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 3 ripe bananas
• ½ cup original or vanilla almond milk (or any favorite milk)
• ¼ cup canola oil
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup finely chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° and spray an 8×8″ glass baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl sift the dry ingredients together.

In a blender add the bananas through vanilla and purée till smooth.

Add the wet to the dry and stir until just mixed, add in the walnuts and stir in.

Scrape into the prepared dish, smooth out and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes, flip out onto a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature.

The frosting was supposed to have been vegan as well but after my run in with the nasty faux cream cheese, well the frosting became vegetarian. I adapted a recipe and made it smaller, the cake doesn’t need a whole batch.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces low-fat cream cheese or favorite vegan “cream cheese”
• 1 Tbsp Earth Balance buttery stick
• 1¼ cups powdered sugar
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Let the cream cheese and butter warm up a bit, to soften.

Add to the bowl of a mixer (stand or hand) and beat until mixed. Slowly add in the sugar and beat in, until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and mix in.

Store covered in the refrigerator.

Frost the cake and if desired add more finely chopped walnuts as decoration (a mini food chopper works well for this).

~Sarah