Bananas and cardamom…I can think of few flavor combinations tastier than these two. Add a cup of strong coffee to the mix and you could almost call me a morning person. This cake (or should that be bread?) is best for breakfast or snacking - it’s delicious and comforting without being decadent. It also seems I’m not the only one baking healthy banana cakes this week. Lisa’s looks pretty tasty, too. And why shouldn’t we be going bananas? This fruit is one of the healthy baker’s best partners, and I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t like a warm slice of banana bread for breakfast.

When I started to make this cake, I was following the recipe for Nick Malgieri’s Banana Cake from his Perfect Light Desserts… book. His recipe isn’t so much healthy as merely low-fat, so I ended up making some changes to accommodate my ingredients and to give it a smidge more nutrition. Whole wheat pastry flour and unrefined sugar bring the health content up a notch, and if you use a darker unrefined sugar like Muscovado, the cake will have a richer, more molasses-y flavor. An optional addition is 1/4 cup of flax seeds (or ground flax meal), which will add nutritional value without making it taste like a “diet” cake.

Since this cake is low in butter, it’s best eaten the day it is made and will not keep for very long. If you want to keep it longer than a day or two, wrap it in plastic and put it in the freezer once it has fully cooled from the oven. Let it thaw at room temperature or in the microwave on a low setting.

Banana Cardamom Breakfast Cake

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup evaporated cane juice or other unrefined sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 large)
1/2 cup unsalted pistachios, chopped
1/2 cup flax seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a 9″ round or square baking pan.
Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda together in a small bowl, then stir in flax seeds if using. In a large bowl, whisk egg whites to combine, then add sugar. Whisk in vanilla, melted butter, cardamom and sour cream. Mix in mashed banana. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture just until combined. Fold in chopped pistachios. Spread batter into baking pan and smooth top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for one day, or wrap tightly in plastic and freeze.

Posted by the cookworm on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 12:24 pm.