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A Healthier Birthday Cake


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4 from 1 review

  • Author: Maryea
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: 12 1x

Description

This is a whole grain, lower sugar, healthier-than-most cake that is great for healthy birthday celebrations!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, sifted (if you can’t find ww pastry flour, substitute 50% whole wheat and 50% all-purpose, unbleached flour)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), room temperature
  • 1/2 cup Sucanat
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 large ripe bananas, mashed (1 1/2 cups)
  • 1/4 cup plain yogurt (I used whole milk, but low fat or non fat would work, too)
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks

For the Strawberry Frosting

  • 8 ounces organic cream cheese (dairy or non-dairy)
  • 1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed, with a little bit of the liquid
  • 40 drops liquid vanilla stevia, or to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9 X 1.5 ” round cake pans by lining the bottom with parchment paper or lightly greasing and flouring. {I used parchment paper and think it is the easiest method! The cake pops right out of the pan.}
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In another large bowl, beat the butter on high until it is smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add in the Sucanat, beating on high another 3 minutes.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla together. Add them to the butter and sugar, beating until they are combined.
  5. To your wet ingredients, add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat until combined. Now add 1/2 of the mashed banana and beat until combined. Keep alternating flour and banana until they are all mixed in. Then, add the yogurt and again beat until combined. Stir in the chocolate chunks. The mixture will seem thick.
  6. Transfer 1/2 the mixture to one prepared cake pan and the other half to the other. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  7. Allow cakes to cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove the cakes from the pan and allow to cool on the racks completely. {If you used parchment paper, first use a knife to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan, then invert the cake onto the rack. Pull off the parchment paper and you are in business!}

To Make the Frosting

  1. In a food processor, pulse the strawberries until you have a smooth puree. Add the cream cheese and sweetener and pulse until combined and the frosting is a spreadable consistency.

Notes

  • You can use maple syrup or honey in place of the stevia in the frosting. Just add a small amount and taste as you go. The frosting will be a bit thinner, but still delicious.
  • Prep Time: 35
  • Cook Time: 30

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 12
  • Calories: 350
  • Sugar: 18
  • Sodium: 274
  • Fat: 19
  • Carbohydrates: 42
  • Fiber: 5
  • Protein: 5