Sweet Treat - Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oat Cake

I have a huge sweet tooth, so for me, during my quarantine, it's important for me to have something sweet to nibble on. This recipe helped me use items in my pantry to make something sweet and a little healthy that helped me stretch my chocolate stash. This is a goey, dense cake that is more like a brownie in consistency. This recipe as written is gluten free. Substitutions are not.

Estimated prep time: 15 minutes
Estimated bake time: 30 minutes
Makes 6-8 servings. Or 4. Maybe 2. Everyone has a free pass to live their best life right now.

Tools

• Blender
• Mixing bowl
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Pie plate

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Almond flour
• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt



• 1 cup almond-coconut milk
• 1/2 very ripe banana



• 3 tbsp natural, sugar-free peanut butter
• 1/2 cup chopped semi-sweet baking chocolate



• Small amount of butter for coating pan (about 1/2 tsp)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. WASH YOUR HANDS
3. Put dry ingredients into a blender and pulse until oats have a fine consistency. Then, transfer to a mixing bowl.
4. Put almond-coconut milk and banana in blender and mix on high until smooth. Add to the bowl with the dry ingredients.
5. Add peanut butter to the bowl and mix all ingredients until relatively smooth. There will be some blobs of peanut butter. This is fine.
6. Fold in chocolate. Now your batter is done!
7. Rub butter over the bottom and sides of the pie plate. I've found that the best way to do this is to use your fingers. Wash your hands before and after :)
8. Pour batter into greased pie plate, put in oven, and bake for 25-35 minutes or until knife comes out mostly clean. Let cool before slicing otherwise it will fall apart. If you're okay with a warm bowl of goo, eat straight out of the oven.

Substitutions
Baking has a reputation for being finicky, and for certain items this is true, but cakes can be very forgiving. The texture may vary, but you can get something flavorful and cake-or-brownie-esque with a lot of different variations. The core principles of this recipe are that it be flavorful enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, have a soft texture, and be calorically dense but with some nutritional value. Substitute fats with other fats. Substitute dry, absorbent items (flours/oats/cocoa) with other dry, absorbent items. Substitute sweeteners with other sweeteners.

No blender? That's okay. Your cake will just have more texture. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, then use a fork to mash the banana with the almond milk.

No pie plate? A 8"x8" square pan, 8" cake pan, or small casserole dish will work. If you only have a 9"x13", I recommend doubling the recipe.

No almond-coconut milk? Cow's milk, oat milk, or any other milk will do. Water will work, but add a tablespoon of butter for additional fat and flavor.

No peanut butter? Use almond butter, sunflower butter, or other nut butter. You can also use 1/4 cup mashed avocado or 2 eggs.

No cocoa powder? That's okay, increase almond flour or oats by 1/4 cup.

No almond flour or oats? Use 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour. If doing this, you can skip the blender and mix by hand.

No baking chocolate? Use semi-sweet chocolate chips, frozen berries, or dried fruit.

No sugar? Add another 1/2 banana and 3 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup.