Today I come here with an amazing recipe for a vegan banana chocolate cake. In fact the original recipe was neither vegan nor it was a banana cake. Funny isn't it, when it starts out as something and ends up totally different nevertheless ending up awesome. Many of the recipes I blog here follow that pattern.
In my previous post I mentioned about the Taste of Home website for a huge collection of baking recipes and how I like to linger around there. Another website I often visit is Weight Watchers. Whether your New Year's resolution is to lose weight or not I think it is always better to look for healthy meal ideas and what better place to look for than Weight Watchers. They have a good collection of dessert, baking recipes too. I have tried a couple of recipes from that site as well with some tweaks here and there and have liked it very much.
The following vegan chocolate banana cake recipe too is my version of the Dark Chocolate Cake recipe in that site. The chocolate cake recipe is egg free already. All I did was to substitute a cup of pureed sauerkraut with a cup of pureed banana and made it vegan by substituting canola oil for the melted butter.
I also used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose flour. What is sauerkraut? I too was not aware of such a thing until I saw it mentioned in the cake recipe. I understand that it is fermented cabbage pickle in laymen terms. For detailed information check this sauerkraut recipe, which has detailed instructions with pictures.
As for my vegan chocolate cake with bananas, it came out very well. One of the reason I chose to bake this cake was, I recently purchased a bundt pan and was waiting for a chance to use it. I saw that this chocolate cake recipe too used one and was egg free too. Another reason being, I had very ripe bananas at home which I didn't want to throw it away.
So I decided to use it in this recipe and I'm not regretting it at all. Initially I was thinking that it is going to taste more like a vegan banana cake instead of a vegan banana chocolate cake because of the bananas. Surprisingly, the flavor of bananas in the cake is very mild. The cake was moist, had a very good texture; neither dense nor crumbly, perfect for decorating for birthdays and anniversaries. The only change I would make in that case is to use butter instead of canola oil to give it a rich taste.
Recently I had some overripe bananas at home and wanted to bake cupcakes using it. I already have a plain vegan banana cupcakes recipe here in the blog. I also was in the mood for chocolate flavor. So used this recipe and baked it as vegan banana chocolate cupcakes and it's not a surprise that it turned out great!
If you tried this Vegan Chocolate Banana Cake recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
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Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Banana Cake
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- 1 and ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar (See My Notes #2)
- ⅔ cup Cocoa Powder
- 1 and ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
Wet Ingredients:
- ¼ cup Canola Oil
- 1 and ½ cups Hot Water
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Bananas Mashed or Pureed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Spray a bundt pan with non stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients and keep it aside.
- I pureed 2 small size bananas with little water to measure 1 cup of puree.
- To the flour mixture add the canola oil, hot water and vanilla extract; mix well.
- Now add the pureed bananas and blend thoroughly.
- The cake batter is quite watery. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake for approximately from 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The original recipe mentions 55-60 minutes, but mine was done after 45 minutes itself.
- At this stage I did see some cracks on the cake. Move the bundt pan to a cooling rack and let it cool for 10-20 minutes. Place a baking sheet on the pan and slowly invert the pan holding the sides of the sheet to remove the cake from the pan. Then carefully transfer the cake to the wiring rack and let it cool completely before you frost. I didn't frost mine.
My Notes
- The original recipe used all purpose flour but we did not realize that the cake was made with whole wheat pastry flour. The cake had a wonderful texture; moist but not sticky and not gritty. This can very well be a birthday cake; but I would use butter in that case.
- You could also increase the quantity of sugar to 1 and ½ cups if you are not frosting this chocolate banana cake. You could also sprinkle some chocolate chips instead. Since I wanted to make a vegan cake I did not add any. I prefer mild sweetness so the 1 and ⅓ cup was perfect.
- The cake was surely moist but I felt that it did not taste rich. The original recipe uses ½ cup of melted butter for the fat which I replaced with ¼ cup canola oil and some mashed bananas. So I think we could use ¼ cup of melted butter or margarine instead to give that richness. If you want to use entire ½ cup butter, you can reduce the quantity of mashed bananas to ¾th cup.
- Update: I did try this recipe once again with all purpose flour and melted butter and it was definitely rich and good enough to qualify for a birthday cake.
- The next time I try this recipe I'm going to use cooked beet puree instead of mashed bananas. I'm pretty sure that its going to be so good.
Nutrition
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jess says
I have no idea what went wrong but my cake was raw in the middle even though i've checked it before i took it out of the oven. In the oven it was high..after it just went down.
Madhuram says
I'm thinking the oven temperature is not right. Did you preheat the oven? Can you think of any other reason for the oven not heating up.
Rachel says
I made this in a 9X13 pan, and the time was too long. It needed only 30 min.
Madhuram says
The baking time always changes according to the pan used.
Elsy says
Thank you for this recipe .I replaced canola oil with coconut oil and it was delicious . My only concern is taht the cake didn't raise . It has a fudgy consistency . Is it supposed to be like this?
Madhuram says
Hmm...I have not baked it in a regular pan, just in the bundt pan as shown in the picture and I think it has rises pretty well. Not sure what could have gone wrong.
Anna Mackney says
Thanks for this recipe. I am vegan & I used ' no egg ' ( a tapioca & maize starch replacement ) I did not use any oil ( except for the coconut oil on the pan ) ....I have it in the oven now.... We shall see how it goes! :)G
Madhuram says
All the best.
Jamie says
I did the recipe but instead of canola oil i actually used melted butter, it's cooling right now after one whole hour and 15 more minutes in the oven (preheated, at the right temperature and all), is it normal for it to look a bit "squishy" when taken right out of the oven or did i do something wrong? maybe it was the butter?
Madhuram says
That should not be a problem Jamie. Did you cut it immediately after taking it out of the oven? It needs quite a bit of cooling time to set properly. Did the toothpick come clean when you tested for doneness?
Rachel says
I made it in a 9x13 rectangular pan. That size worked well. However, I had a problem with the cooking time and temperature. Maybe the pan should not be sprayed. The edges and the bottom were burnt, but the inside did not get cooked enough. The inside tastes very good though.
Madhuram says
The baking time changes/depends on the size of the pan we use. Bundt pans usually take longer time. You can spray the pan or line the pan with parchment paper. Did you preheat the oven?
NicoleLogan says
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Madhuram says
You're welcome Nicole.
Ishta says
Made the cake yesterday. It was delicious. Moist from the centre but not uncooked. I tried it with all purpose flour, next time will try it with whole wheat pastry. Thank you for this wonderful and delicious recipe. My kids loved it.
Madhuram says
Maybe it didn't bake enough Ishta.
Cat Brehme says
Sauerkraut is not made from red cabbage, it is always made from white cabbage. Please could you correct that statement.
Madhuram says
Will change it Cat Brehme. Thanks for pointing out.
Carli says
This is my second time making this lovely cake. I found the comments really useful last time & made some tweaks which I intend to do again today 🙂
I used half white & half rye flour. I used 1 cup raw cacoa & dairy free chocolate chips (handful). 1 cup brown sugar & half cup blackstrap molasses.
It was VERY rich & VERY good 🙂
Madhuram says
Thanks Carli. 😀
Sipra says
Hey can we replace hot water with milk, n does it need to be hot also
Madhuram says
Yes you can replace it with milk and I guess it should be hot.
Shivani says
Hi Madhuram,
Can we use orange juice instead of hot water?If yes then should it be hot orange juice? also can I use medium ripe bananas instead of over ripe?I need this cake to be perfect so please help. I will use all purpose flour.
Madhuram says
I'm guessing it should be alright Shivani. The orange juice need not be hot.
jane says
The chocolate banana cake is very nice i made it twice. Perfect. Thanks.
Madhuram says
You're welcome Jane.
anshu says
Hey Madhuram, tried this recipe with butter and all purpose flour with 1/2 cup sugar. It turned out really well. I am a big fan of your recipes. For all birthdays and anniversaries in my home I bake wonderful cakes from this site and it is relished by all family members. Thanks a lot!
Anshu..
Madhuram says
You're welcome Anshu. Thank you for trying the recipes.
Diane says
This is an excellent recipe - everyone loves it every time. Namaste
Madhuram says
Thanks Diane.
Sarah Marie says
Fantastic recipe. I modified it a bit by using a scant cup and 3/4 of ww flour and 1/4 cup of bread flour. It's what I had on hand. I also used a bit of pumpkin beer, warmed with the water, to give it a bit of complexity and spiciness; lastly, I used extra virgin olive oil, again for complexity and interest.
It was very good! If I had to do it again, I might use a bit more cocoa powder and some chocolate chips, perhaps a bit less sugar, and a maple buttercream icing. MMM. Thanks a heap!
Madhuram says
You're welcome Sarah.
Deepika says
Hi 🙂
Love your recipes! 🙂 A basic question--what are your thoughts on replacing one of the cups of all purpose flour with wheat flour?
Madhuram says
It should not be a problem Deepika.
Veena says
Hello Madhuram,
I planned to bake chocolate-banana cake. I want to use butter instead of canola oil. When we substitute canola oil and butter what should be the ratio. Should we use same amount of butter or oil? As I read in this recipe that you replaced 1/2 cup butter with 1/4 cup oil and some mashed banana but it is always not mentioned.
Thanks
Veena
Madhuram says
You can use melted butter instead of oil. So you would be using 1/2 cup of melted butter.