Gluten Free, Vegan, and Sugar Free

 The other day I was looking after the kids I babysit every week. The youngest boy was playing video games and singing to himself. At first I was just tuning him out and trying to read my book, and then I started listening to what he was singing.

What do you do with an annoying sister

What do you do with an annoying sister

What do you do with an annoying sister

(This is where he turned to me and locked eyes intensely)

Stick a fork up her BUM HOLE. 

Where do kids get stuff like that?!? I blame free TV! No, seriously. Kids amaze me sometimes. Their little brains just work on a completely different, fascinating level. The other day I caught myself debating with them what would happen if people’s faces got transplanted to their bums and their bums transplanted to their faces. It got ugly! I think all this babysitting is turning me into a giant kid.

If, like me, you find yourself staring at a fruit bowl one day humming to yourself “what do you do with a million bananas, what do you do with a million bananas…” I can now tell you a decent answer. You make these little gluten free, sugar free, optionally vegan heart shaped cakes out of them. It’s just that obvious. On my birthday recently a family friend made us the most amazing flourless chocolate cake. It had raspberries scattered on top and we ate it with vanilla ice cream! Oh mercy. It was beautiful. The nicest cake I have ever had. Today with these little chocolate cakes, I wanted to do something along the chocolate and almond theme. 

But healthified. 

The recipe is the same one from Petite Kitchen that I used in these orange fudge cupcakes. Instead of orange though, I used banana! I was worried that the difference in fruits would make the recipe come out really strange and possibly lumpy…but my fears turned out to be futile. 

As soon as a had my first peak in the oven I knew good things were happening. They smelled amazing! And the tops looked so crispy and light. I had no idea how long they’d take to cook so there was a bit of oven door opening going on, but I worked out a decent time in the end for you lovely people. But by then some of the hearts had cracked. They looked so sad! 

The cakes came out really moist but light as well. You could put in some chocolate chips to make them more chocolatey, but to be honest they tasted amazing as they were. These cakes are so rich and dark you could make them for dessert. Serve them with some serious vanilla ice cream or custard, or chocolate ice cream if you’re anything like me. They’re also great for any other time of day as well, including breakfast if you know what I’m sayin! 

Also the REALLY exciting news! I got a new lens for my camera! It’s a 100mm 1.28L IS USM macro lens (I have no idea what I just said…) I think, and it’s the most amazing thing EVERRRR. I’m still learning how to use it. Only half the photos in this post are taken with it because I love me an overhead shot, and I’d seriously need a ladder with this thing to get the whole cake in the frame. It is so close! The detail is just amazing. 

I’ve been watching the CD instruction manual and reading up on the internet and it is actually starting to make sense. I’m so excited to start putting way more effort into each post when I get back from overseas! Making one post a week gives you so much more time to think and plan, rather than three or four posts a week which I’ve been doing recently. (I’m speaking to you from the past if that made no sense…hellooooo!! spookyyy). These little cakes may be simple, but they’re a total winner. I was so happy with how they turned out. So make them! Especially if you have some bananas lying spare.

I have to admit I used eggs instead of chia seeds here because we had a lot of eggs and no chia…but I’ve made this exact recipe with oranges and chia, and it turned out great. Denser, but great. So try what suits your needs and tell me how it goes!

 Vegan and Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Cakes: Adapted from Petite Kitchen

300g (2 cups) almond flour

35g (5 tablespoons) cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

90ml (6 tablespoons) maple syrup or agave nectar

5 tablespoons chia seeds mixed with ten tablespoons almond milk OR 5 eggs

3-4 bananas, mashed to make one cup

Optional: chopped nuts or chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 170C (340F) and grease ten muffin or friand moulds with coconut butter or oil. Mash your bananas well, and mix with the chia seeds and almond milk to form a smooth paste. Blend all the ingredients together thoroughly until combined. Pour until 3/4 full in to each muffin mould. 

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 15 minutes, checking after 12. Makes ten to twelve chocolate cakes. Dust with cocoa powder and serve warm with ice cream for the best chocolate cake experience ever.