Don't be intimidated by the lack of added fat or sugar in this cake. Rather, bask in delight that it has neither. Adapted from the folks at Whole Foods.
Ingredients
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup old-fashioned oatmeal, ground to yield 1 cup oat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 ripe bananas
8 large dates, pitted
1/2 cup light coconut milk
2 T water
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
Directions
Preheat oven to 375. Prepare an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, or coat lightly with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine cocoa, both flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Eliminate any lumps and set aside.
To a Blentec or powerful blender, add bananas, dates, coconut milk, water and vanilla. Blend until dates are chopped very small and the mixture is smooth.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour in the banana mixture, and fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. Do not overwork the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top evenly. Sprinkle coconut on top. Bake until the top is firm and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
Let the cake cool in the baking pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then remove cake from the pan and cool completely. Peel the parchment off the cake and cut into squares. Wrap any remaining cake tightly and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Nutrition notes
1/12 cake: 170 calories; 3.5 g fat, 34 g total carbs, (5 g fiber, 13 g sugar) 3 g protein.
