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Almond Meal Banana Cake

Top view of slice of almond banana cake topped with honey pecan glaze and a fork on a small white plate.
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★★★★★

5 from 7 reviews

This Almond Meal Banana Cake is delectably moist, sweet, and the perfect cozy dessert for date night or any night in! It’s made mostly with finely ground almonds and just a little bit of flour, and less sugar than most cakes. It’s also full of lovely almond, honey, and banana-y flavors, topped with a delightful honey pecan glaze, and is simply SO GOOD!

Ingredients

Scale

For the Almond Meal Banana Cake:

  • 200 grams Almonds, raw, with skin – (Or use 200 grams store-bought almond meal for convenience if preferred.)
  • 3 medium overripe Bananas (about 1.5 – 2 cups mashed)
  • 100 grams (1/2 cup) Unsalted Butter – chopped into smaller sized chunks
  • ¼ cup Honey
  • 2 large Eggs
  • ¼ cup granulated White Sugar
  • ¼ cup Greek Style Yogurt (or Plain Yogurt)*
  • 1 TSP Almond Extract
  • 1 TSP Vanilla Extract
  • ½ cup Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 TSP Baking Powder
  • 1 & ¼ TSP Baking Soda
  • ¼ TSP Fine Sea Salt
  • ¼ TSP ground Cinnamon
  • Olive Oil or melted butter, for greasing the pan

For the Honey Pecan Glaze:

  • 2.5 TBLS Unsalted Butter
  • 2.5 TBLS Honey
  • ¼ TSP ground Cinnamon
  • 50 grams (about ½ cup) Pecans – either left whole or chopped

Instructions

  1. Prep: Preheat oven to 165°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Grease an 8-inch round baking pan with oil or melted butter and line the bottom with aluminum foil or nonstick cooking paper.
  2. Make almond meal: Add the raw almonds to a food processor bowl (or high-speed blender) and cover with its lid. Process in 30 second bursts, mixing and scraping the sides of the food processor bowl in between, until the almonds are finely ground. Be careful not to over process as the almonds will start turning into almond butter and clumping in the center and sides of the processor.) Transfer the almond meal to a bowl or measuring cup and set aside. (Note: Skip this step if using store-bought almond meal.)
  3. Mash bananas: Peel the bananas and place the flesh in a large mixing bowl. Use a potato masher (or fork) to mash until smooth.
  4. Melt butter and honey: Combine the unsalted butter and honey in a microwave safe measuring cup or bowl. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring with a spoon in between, until melted.
  5. Combine wet ingredients: Add the eggs, melted unsalted butter and honey mixture, granulated white sugar, Greek style yogurt, almond extract, and vanilla extract to the bowl with the mashed bananas. Mix with a rubber spatula or large spoon until evenly combined.
  6. Mix in dry ingredients: Add the almond meal, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, fine sea salt, and ground cinnamon. Mix until everything is evenly incorporated and combined well, but do not overmix. The batter will be liquidy.
  7. Bake: Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth out the top with the rubber spatula or back of the spoon. Firmly tap the baking pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles that may have formed from. Then place the pan in the center rack of the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the cake has set and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  8. Cool: Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow the cake to rest for 10-15 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the rack and carefully set it upright. Cool for 40 minutes at least.
  9. Prepare Honey Pecan Glaze: While the cake is cooling, prepare the Honey Pecan Glaze. Add the unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon to a medium sized saucepan or pot and heat over medium-low heat until the butter starts to melt. Stir to combine until the mixture has slightly thickened – about 1-2 minutes, then take the pan off the heat and stir in the pecans. (Note: Make sure the heat is set to medium-low as if it gets too hot, the honey and butter will start to solidify and become like candy.)
  10. Top cake with glaze and serve: Spoon the Honey Pecan Glaze on top of the cake allow it to set for 10 minutes or so. Then transfer the cake to a cutting board and slice into even portions. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream if desired!

Equipment

Notes

  1. Greek style yogurt: Greek style yogurt is less thick and more watery than Greek yogurt. If you prefer, you can use plain yogurt or vanilla flavored yogurt instead too.
  2. Storing and leftovers: This cake can be sliced and stored in sealed airtight containers either on the countertop or fridge for up to 3-4 days. I recommend heating up the slice in the microwave for 10-20 seconds before serving as the cake tastes best when warm.
  3. Use almond flour: If you prefer a finer texture for the cake, you can use either a store-bought homemade almond flour (blanche the almonds to remove the skins, and then finely grind them). I haven’t tried making this cake with almond flour yet, but I recommend using 4 large eggs instead of just 2 to help with binding.
  4. Use other nuts for the glaze: Walnuts, sliced almonds, macadamias, hazelnuts, would all taste great!
  5. Make it refined sugar free: Omit the white sugar in the cake, and use more honey or maple syrup to taste to make this cake 100% naturally sweetened.
  6. Use lemon extract: Swap the vanilla extract in the cake for lemon extract for a brighter and zesty flavored almond banana cake!
  7. Make it gluten-free: While I haven’t tried making this cake completely gluten-free and without the all-purpose flour, I think you can yield same or similar results if you use 1 to 1 Gluten-free Baking Flour in place of the all-purpose flour. You may need to bake for a few extra minutes with this type of flour. I have not tried making this cake with just almond meal or almond flour. But if you do, share how it turned out with us in the comments to help other readers!
  8. Make it vegan: I have not tested making this cake without the eggs. But if you’d like to make it egg-free, I suggest adding an additional banana and 3 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter to help with binding in place of the eggs. Note that this will alter the taste of the cake. Or feel free to look into other egg substitutes online. Also, use a dairy-free Greek style yogurt for the cake, and dairy-free butter and vegan honey or maple syrup for the cake and glaze.

Nutrition

Keywords: almond flour banana cake, almond meal cake, almond meal dessert, Almond banana cake, almond honey cake, almond banana honey cake, almond cake

Find it online: https://thatspicychick.com/almond-meal-banana-cake/