VEGAN OLD-FASHIONED BANANA CAKE WITH BUTTERCREAM STYLE FROSTING

My quest for an awesome banana cake has been a comedy of errors. After making two vegan cakes and one vegan banana loaf, none to my liking, I decided to “veganize” an old never-fail recipe from my omnivore days.

The first attempts could be used as paperweights and were quickly discarded. It wasn’t a cheap day but the only way to reach success is through making mistakes, and I am really good at those. This vegan cake is moist, light, and tastes exactly like its omnivore counterpart.

During the whole process, my kitchen resembled a war zone. I had the rejects, bowls, ingredients and books everywhere. I even veganized the buttercream frosting and that didn’t happen without its own fiasco. At one point, after I dumped the bowl of icing sugar all over the floor and over me, I was down to my underwear washing the floor on my hands and knees. If my husband had walked in he would have seen quite the sight!  

This is NOT gluten free because I just wanted to see if I could replicate the original recipe but the next time I make it, I will try it with gluten-free flour. So without further ado, a perfected recipe for vegan banana cake.

Vegan Banana Cake

For the cake:

2 1/3 cups of organic all-purpose flour

1 cup of organic sugar

1 ¼ cups of mashed bananas

2/3 cup of coconut oil

1 T. apple cider vinegar

2/3 cup of cashew milk

3 T Ground Flax seed

½ cup plus 1 T. warm water

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

1 ¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

For the buttercream frosting:

3 T vegan margarine

2 T cashew milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 bag of sifted vegan icing sugar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour one 13” x 9” x 2” inch pan or two 9” round pans.
2. Put the 3 tablespoons of ground flax meal in the ½ cup plus 1 T. of warm water.
3. Put 1 T. vinegar in measuring cup and add cashew milk up to the 2/3 cup mark and set both aside while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.
4. With a hand mixer, mix all wet ingredients in a bowl, then add them to the dry ingredients. I blended all dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding them to the wet ones though the original recipe doesn’t call for that separation. Beat all ingredients on low speed, scraping bowl constantly for 30 seconds. Continue beating on high speed for 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan(s).
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean; rectangle pan approx. 45-50 minutes; rounds 35 – 40 minutes.
6. While the cake is baking, beat 3 tablespoons of softened vegan margarine with 2 tablespoons of cashew milk and a teaspoon of vanilla. Add 1 bag of sifted vegan icing sugar and beat until smooth! If necessary add another spoonful of milk. Be sure to let the cake cool before frosting.

**The original recipe called for buttermilk but in order to veganize this, the cashew milk with the vinegar is the substitute.

**The original recipe called for 3 eggs, so I’ve used flax meal with water, as it’s a great substitute with extra benefits like additional fibre and Omega’s.

**The original recipe called for 2/3 cup of shortening but I used coconut oil instead as I find vegan shortening to have an unpleasant aftertaste.

I made all the mistakes for you so simply enjoy it!