Dinner Party Dessert: Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Banana Walnut Cake

Yes I know, you've seen to many banana baked goods recipes, and you're right, this is another variation of plenty of previous recipes. What can I say, bananas make a great base for baking, and frankly, I never have any leftovers :)

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Banana Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

3 overripe bananas, pureed
2 eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
splash of vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 + 1/4 cups gluten free flour
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree and spray a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, blend bananas, eggs, applesauce and vanilla.
3. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, salt & pepper. Add baking soda and baking powder.
4. Stir in 1 cup of flour; the batter should be pretty thick, so if you had large bananas add up to 1/4 cup more flour.
5. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.
6. Pour into pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until edges are browned and top is firm.

The cost: $4.00, give or take

An Adventure in Vegan Baking: Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

I've been thinking for a while I'd like to try vegan baking (which mostly means no eggs). Last week when I saw a recipe from my Twitter friend, the Lazy GF Chef, that looked delicious and happened to be vegan, I decided to try it :)

I made a few adaptations: My cocoa looked yucky so I used chocolate chips instead; my vanilla and cinnamon are both very strong so I used half of what the recipe called for (learned from experience on this one); I used a bit less soy milk because my bananas were quite large; I added nuts because I like the texture they add; and I did muffins instead of a loaf because portion (read: self)-control is much easier when I have muffins with finite mass.

These muffins were great--moist and sweet (although a very different flavor with agave rather than sugar, I hadn't baked with agave before as a main sweetener; it also makes these significantly more expensive because agave by volume costs a lot more than sugar does).

Thank you, Lazy GF Chef, for facilitating my vegan baking adventure with your utterly delicious looking chocolate cinnamon banana loaf!

Vegan Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Adapted from The Lazy GF Chef

3 overripe bananas, pureed
1/4 cup light olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup agave
1/4 cup soy milk

pinch of salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Bread Mix)

1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Combine bananas, oil, vanilla, agave and soy milk. In a separate bowl, combine salt, cinnamon, BP., BS and flour. Using a whisk, stir dry ingredients into wet until well mixed.
2. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Divide evenly into greased 12-muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.

The cost:
bananas: .57
agave: .75
soy milk: 1.79
flour: 1.25
other ingredients: <1.00

Grand total: $5.36

Dinner Party (5 of 5): Cinnamon Banana Cake w/ Candied Walnuts

I've been remixing this recipe a lot because I love banana muffins/cake, and this recipe has been great in every variation I have tried. As the final course of my dinner party, I wanted something sweet but not too heavy since we had already eaten so much. I used oil here since it's a dessert, but you can also substitute applesauce for a lower fat version.

P.S. In case you missed them, check out the other dinner party recipes here!

Cinnamon Banana Cake w/ Candied Walnuts

Ingredients:

3 overripe bananas, pureed
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp cinnamon
zest and juice of 1 meyer lemon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 + 1/4 cup flour (I used gluten free)
1/4 cup candied walnuts

Directions:

1. Blend bananas, eggs, oil, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon zest and juice.
2. Sift together BP, BS and flour. Stir into wet mixture. Fold in walnuts.
3. Pour batter into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees 15-20 minutes until edges are browned and top is firm and golden.

The cost: about $4.00

Recipe Remix: Zesty Banana Nut Muffins

I had an abundance of brown bananas desperately calling to me last night (thanks EZRJ :)), but halfway through my batter mixing process I realized I was out of chocolate chips! Banana nut muffins without the chocolate chips just don't do it for me, so I had to quickly think of another way to jazz the muffins up.

I settled on the zest and juice from a meyer lemon (leftover from last week), along with a bit of freshly ground nutmeg. The result: The best batch of gluten free muffins I have made yet!

Zesty Banana Nut Muffins

Ingredients:

3 overripe bananas, pureed
2 eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
splash of vanilla (bourbon for the adventurous)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
zest and juice of 1 meyer lemon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 + 1/4 cup flour (I used gluten free bread mix)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Blend bananas, eggs, applesauce, sugar, salt, nutmeg, lemon zest and juice.
2. Sift together BP, BS and flour. Using a whisk, stir dry ingredients into wet until combined. If the mixture still seems a bit too loose, add a few Tbsp more of flour (you want a pretty thick consistency). Fold in walnuts.
3. Divide batter evenly into a greased 12 muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees 12-15 minutes until edges are browned and tops are firm and golden.

The cost: Less than $4.00 per batch.

Greatest Hits: Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins

I love muffins. It's easy portion control (if you have self control), and I can easily grab one on my way to work or as a quick snack while I'm getting dinner together (whoever said you can't have dessert first was a moron). I like to substitute extra bananas or applesauce for the oil so be aware loaf pans don't work so well for this recipe (unless you like the ooey gooey uncooked center, in which case, have at it!).

I have three main go-to muffin recipes (sorry, you'll only get one today :)). This is my absolute fave: A sumptuous combination moist sweetness, crunchy nuts and melty chocolate chips, with the white pepper providing that perfect little bit of pizazz.

Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins

Ingredients:

3 overripe bananas, pureed
2 eggs
1/4 cup applesauce (or 1 extra banana, pureed)
splash of vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar (1/4 cup more if you like really sweet muffins)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

1 + 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree and spray a 12-muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, blend bananas, eggs, applesauce and vanilla.
3. With a whisk, stir in brown sugar, salt & pepper. Add baking soda and baking powder and whisk to combine.
4. Add 1 cup of flour and stir just to combine (it'll get tough if you mix too much); the batter should be pretty thick, so if you had large bananas add up to 1/4 cup more flour.
5. Fold in chocolate chips and pecans.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes; muffin tops will be firm and edges will be just browned.

These muffins will keep up to one week if stored in the fridge in an airtight container. They also freeze well, and you can easily double the recipe. (Banana Tip: If you have one or two but not enough to make muffins, throw in the freezer, then defrost when you are ready to use)

Other fun variations:

• Sub in candied pecans or spicy candied pecans (but leave out the pepper).
  
• Try milk chocolate or peanut butter chips, or chocolate covered raisins.
  
• Leave out the chocolate chips and nuts, and sprinkle a combination of flour, melted butter, cinnamon and sugar over the muffins just before baking.
  

The cost:
bananas: .57
eggs: .33
applesauce: .35
sugar: .45
flour: .25
chocolate chips: .35
nuts: .40

Grand total: $2.70; makes 12 muffins