Oct

19

By Heather ·  Print This Post

I’ve been intrigued by the blog carnival Slightly Indulgent Mondays at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free. I love the idea of changing your recipes to be a little healthier than they were before. Especially if they still taste as wonderful as they did before. So, I decided to try changing my recipe for Banana Coffee Cake.

For starters, I reduced the sugar in the cake by a 1/4 cup. I didn’t even miss it. Next, I removed the dairy from the recipe. Although I’m lactose intolerant, I usually cook with whole milk. I take any opportunity to get more calories into my son. Since my son doesn’t eat the coffee cake (don’t ask me why), I figured I’d try replacing the cow’s milk with almond milk. I also replaced the butter in the recipe, but I didn’t have a good, low-fat alternative. I used shortening with butter flavor. I’m not sure that’s a healthier option. However, I did meet my goal of reducing sugar and eliminating the lactose.

The results: it was even better. The texture was perfect — moist and soft, but not gummy. And I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t miss the sugar. I loved the coffee cake. Just like the original cake, it lasted on the counter for a few days without drying out or getting crumbly. Here’s the revised recipe:

Banana Coffee Cake – Revised Recipe

Ingredients:

Filling Layer:
1/2 Cup brown sugar, packed
1 TBSP shortening, melted
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cake Batter:
1/2 Cup shortening, softened
3/4 Cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 Cup brown rice flour
1/2 Cup cornstarch
1/4 Cup tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 or 2 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 2/3 Cup)
1/3 Cup almond milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare  a 9″ cake pan or 8 x 8 baking pan by spraying with oil.
2. Mix together the filling ingredients and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together shortening and sugar. Add egg and beat well.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (brown rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt) and then mix into the shortening/sugar/egg mixture.
5. Add bananas and almond milk. Stir well.
6. Pour all but about a cup of the batter into the cake pan.
7. Spoon in the filling and gently spread it over the top. It doesn’t need to be smooth and even.
8. Pour or spoon on the remaining batter over the filling. It doesn’t need to cover the filling completely.
9. Bake at 350° F for 40-45 minutes.

Additional Notes:

• You can also add chopped nuts to the filling.
• This cake also freezes well. I have wrapped and frozen individual portions, so that we can take out one at a time and heat it in the microwave. Great morning treat to grab-and-go on the way to the office.