Sugar-free banana cake

Sugar-free banana cake

By Caroline Hire
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(37 ratings)
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Prep: 10 mins Cook: 30 mins

Easy

Cuts into 6 - 8 slices

The natural sweetness of fruit and a drizzle of agave syrup means less added sugar is needed in this banana bread

Nutrition and extra info

Nutrition: per serving

  • kcal214
  • fat7.6g
  • saturates4.5g
  • carbs31.7g
  • sugars19g
  • fibre3.6g
  • protein3.8g
  • salt0.2g
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Ingredients

  • 125g self-raising wholemeal flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
    Baking powder

    Baking powder

    bay-king pow-dah

    Baking powder is a raising agent that is commonly used in cake-making. It is made from an alkali…

  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 75g sultana
  • 50g butter, melted
    Butter

    Butter

    butt-err

    Butter is made when lactic-acid producing bacteria are added to cream and churned to make an…

  • 2 tsp vanilla essence
    Vanilla

    Vanilla

    van-ill-ah

    The sun-dried seed pod of a type of climbing orchid, vanilla has an inimitable soft, sweet…

  • 1 egg
    Eggs

    Egg

    egg

    The ultimate convenience food, eggs are powerhouses of nutrition, packed with protein and a…

  • 1 tbsp milk

    Milk

    mill-k

    One of the most widely used ingredients, milk is often referred to as a complete food. While cow…

  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed
    Banana

    Banana

    bah-nah-nah

    Probably the best known, most popular tropical fruit, their name probably derives from the…

  • drizzle agave syrup, to serve (optional)
    Agave syrup

    Agave syrup

    Agave syrup (also known as agave nectar) is a naturally occurring sweetener similar in…

Method

  1. Grown ups: Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan/ gas mark 4. Grease and line a 450g loaf/1lb tin with baking parchment.

  2. Children: Weigh the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sultanas into a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Then weigh the butter, vanilla essence, egg, milk and mashed bananas and put into another bowl or jug and mix with a small balloon whisk or fork. Pour the ‘wet’ banana mixture into the ‘dry’ flour mixture and combine thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Weighing needs to be very accurate when baking so help older children to measure carefully. Younger children can also get involved by spooning or pouring into the scales with adult supervision. Younger children can also beat the egg with a fork and mash the banana with a potato masher.

  3. Grown ups: Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30 - 40 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the tin for 10 mins then turn out.

  4. Children: Drizzle with agave syrup if using.

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Comments, questions and tips

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FNBlack
31st Mar, 2018
I made this with some additions: heaping 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1 more banana, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and + 10 grams butter. Based on previous comments I went ahead and took out the agave and sultanas, and used 2 tsp baking powder total. It did take longer to bake because of the frozen blueberries. Will make again!
stefaninny
21st Mar, 2018
3.05
I made this exactly as recipe and cooked for 50 minutes. It looked splendid when I took it from oven, very well risen with a lovely brown crust. I also tested it with a skewer. However on cooling it disappointingly sank to half the size. It tasted good, so I would try again without the milk and perhaps two eggs.
cinderellie
24th Mar, 2017
5.05
Good recipe and didn't miss the sugar at all but I changed it a little as I always like to tinker. For a quarter of the flour I used a Doves Farm gluten free mix (had some to use it up and in general a variety in one's diet is always a good thing!) - I added as extra tablespoon of milk to compensate. Instead of butter (to save £££) I used 40g of rapeseed oil and an extra tablespoon of milk (so three in total). Also chopped a carrot in to chunks and added this to the blender with the wet ingredients. Blended the raisins too so the sweetness was more evenly distributed. Also added about 50g of walnuts that I whizzed up in the blender (I would normally have just chopped them in to chunks but my little girl only has six teeth at the moment to fine is better for her). I too found that it needed 50 minutes in the oven. The skewer still came out wet in places but I think that was because of the banana chunks.
daffee
19th Jan, 2017
5.05
Noting some of the other comments I added 1 tsp baking powder and baked for 50 minutes. Delicious and much enjoyed by me and my toddler. It keeps well and I feel it actually improves with age so that it's very hard to tell it has no added sugar after a couple of days. I will be making this again for a guilt free afternoon treat.
Snjsndnw
11th Jan, 2017
4.05
Love this! First thing I've made that actually works! Made a few changes as suggested before though, 1tsp of baking powder, half an extra banana, sprinkled chopped nuts on top, just greased pan (didn't line) and left it in longer...I think maybe almost an hour? 50 minutes?. I also used half gf self raising and half plain self raising as that's what I had. Holds together really well, but is light. Great toasted! (Just four stars for the changes). Any ideas on the best way to store this?
kittynel
29th Nov, 2016
5.05
Love it! Very easy and so tasty, while you can feel the absence of sugar it does not matter as the bananas' natural sugar works great. I have very little experience in baking and tried this on a Sunday afternoon with my husband as we want to start making our own snacks. We added walnuts instead of sultanas and did not have any baking parchment, yet it worked perfect straight on a well buttered tin. We had great fun making it and even more eating it.
peach19
29th Aug, 2016
I would rank the recipe four stars as it is, but with a few minor tweaks the second time round it has really become a winner. In fact, I devoured more than half the cake in one day! Firstly, I replaced the raisins with 40 g of walnuts, as I do not particularly like raisins in cake. I also added an extra banana for more flavour. Lastly, as I could only find plain wholemeal flour, I used this with two teaspoons of baking powder. I did not feel it needed the agave syrup at all. Omission of the milk also does not affect the end-product, so I certainly wouldn't bother running to the store if you don't have it on hand. Never thought something so wholesome could be so delicious. This recipe will certainly be a staple for me from now on. Next time I will try replacing/omitting the butter to make it 100% healthy.
msmcc123
16th Jan, 2017
Thanks for the tips! Milk is added because self-raising flour / baking powder will not work if there is no liquid. The milk is ensuring there is enough liquid along with the eggs! :)
LilyChanning1
22nd Mar, 2016
Can someone please give me an idea of the size of the bananas needed? Small/medium/large? Or an idea in weight, 100g/200g? Thank you
rebeccalouisestone
11th Mar, 2016
4.05
I have made this recipe three times now & it is both healthy and delicious! I have rated it as a four star mostly because of the changes that I have made to it, I use one tsp of baking powder (seems to rise better) and I use four-five bananas to make it slightly more moist and gooey. I also add walnut pieces or pecans which adds extra crunch to the recipe. I would recommend to any fellow cake lovers that are looking for a healthier and refined sugar free alternative.

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