I cannot even remember how I started researching and stumbled upon this recipe by Jenné Claiborne but I’m so glad I did. I followed a recommendation to get Mochiko sweet rice flour (easy to get on Amazon) and I could not wait to try when my package was delivered today. Amazon Prime really is the best $100 you’ll ever spend, right?

Again, note that this cake is very lightly sweetened. I try to cut the sweetness as much as possible because I find it easier to have only one or two bites (rather than the whole cake) when sugar is not calling my name…!

Ingredients:

Dry:

• 1.25c whole spelt flour (I ground 1/2c+2TBSP of whole grains in a coffee grinder, but regular whole wheat should work too)
• 1.25c sweet rice flour (Recommending Mochiko brand, available on Amazon)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 big pinch espresso powder (optional)

Wet:

• 2 TBSP ground flax seeds whisked in 1/4c water, set aside to thicken
• 2 TBSP sugar (coconut or Turbinado)
• 3 ripe bananas (the darker, the better… Don’t ever throw out your black bananas!! Stick them in the freezer instead), mashed
• a big dash of vanilla extract
• a dash of orange flower water (optional)
• 1/4c coconut oil, melted
• 1/2c apple sauce (=1 full commercial individual cup)
• 3/4c milk (I used almond)

Instructions:

• pre-heat oven at 350F and grease an 8×8 square pan with coconut oil
• combine dry ingredients
• combine wet ingredients
• it’s generally recommended to add the wet to the dry, but I prefer the other way. I find it makes it easier to break the pockets of flour
• mix until smooth
• pour into the pan, and make sure it’s even (it’s a thick batter) by tapping a few times on the counter and swirling around
• bake for 40 min, take out of the oven and let cool completely