I don't often get baking requests from my family. Usually they are happy to eat whatever I happen to whip up. But everyone so often, an order like this one will come down:

Make something chocolate!

OK, it's more of a suggestion than an order, but I do aim to please. The only thing was, when this particular order was issued, I had on a hand a number of blackening bananas, and I was planning on making banana bread.

Hmmmm. Banana bread. Chocolate? Chocolate banana bread? How would that be? Well, I wouldn't know until I tried it, and I really had to do something about those bananas. It was just a single tweak to a recipe I had previously converted, replacing some of the almond flour with unsweetened cocoa powder.

Cocoa powder is a great low carb ingredient, and can be an excellent flour substitute in smaller quantities. It is high in fiber so it works out to only about 9 grams of net carbs per half-cup, and of course the flavor that it adds is incomparable. Another bonus: cocoa powder is much lower in calories and fat than almond flour, so we saved there, too.

A final tiny modification was the addition of a single teaspoon of cinnamon. Since the cake is enormous, you can't really taste the cinnamon itself, but it gives the bananas and cocoa flavors a nice depth, so don't leave it out!

I frosted the bundt cake with quick cream cheese frosting: soften 8 ounces of cream cheese, and then whip it with about 2 tablespoons of sugar free vanilla syrup until it is very light; then whip one cup of chilled heavy cream until stiff, and fold into the cream cheese mixture. The resultant experiment — I always serve such things with the disclaimer, "If it doesn't taste good, you don't have to eat it!" — was instantly dubbed "Mom's Delicious Cake" by all three of my kids.

High praise indeed from these most demanding tasters!

But what about those bananas, you may be thinking? Aren't bananas very high carb? Yes, it's true, bananas pack quite a wallop with about 25 grams of carbs each, net fiber. But we are splitting them up over many portions, and so the effect is not as bad as you might think. Pay attention to portion size, and cut thin slices of this decadent cake. This is not intended for induction, but should make an acceptable splurge (or even breakfast accompaniment) for those in the ongoing weight loss or maintenance phases. And best of all, you should be able to indulge in a slice without throwing yourself into sugar shock.

Enormous Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake
Two 9-inch round cakes, or one 10-inch tube or bundt cake.  Serves 24.

• 4 medium (between 7 and 8 inches long) over-ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), melted
• 1 cup Splenda pourable
• 1 cup erythritol

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray two 9-inch cake pans or a 10-inch tube or bundt pan with cooking spray. This is a very large cake!

Combine the bananas, eggs, butter, and sweeteners in a bowl and stir to combine well.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and sift them into the banana mixture. Stir briefly just to incorporate the dry ingredients; you don't want to overbeat this mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s). Bake layer cakes for 30 to 35 minutes, and a tube or bundt cake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool in the pans before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.

Frost with your favorite low carb frosting, or eat plain. We liked ours with the easy cream cheese frosting mentioned above.

Approximate nutrition information per serving for the cake, unfrosted: 153 calories; 10 g fat; 9 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 5 g protein; 5 g sugar alcohols. Watch the serving size!

The original version of this recipe was a banana bread my mom has been making for decades. If you'd like the recipe for the lower-carb regular banana bread, or have any other questions or comments, just send me an email. Thanks!

                                                

Copyright © October 2005  Joan Hedman and Low Carb Luxury