Move over Little Debbie…I’ve got a tasty, healthier treat your kids will love.
Even though Joe and I don’t have kids of our own (…yet) I’ve been thinking about school starting and healthier snacks for kids. I taught elementary school for many years and school lunches were always a sore spot for me. I watched kids eat pizza, tater tots, and cookies for lunch. And when they couldn’t concentrate in math class I knew exactly why.
As a chunky little kid, my lunch was packed by my mom nearly every day. Even then, school lunches were not real healthy. Anyone else remember the big chunk of cheese they served as a side dish? And that chunk of cheese went along with a cheeseburger and fries!
So why the snack cake and not a bowl of fruit?
Let’s face it – kids love dessert. So do adults…look at how we drool over desserts on blogs.
Deprivation doesn’t work. Anyone who’s dieted and cut out every sweet that makes you smile only to find themselves with a big bowl of ice cream three weeks later knows that. (I couldn’t possibly be talking about myself, could I?)
But what about a healthier snack filled with the nutrients of bananas, slightly sweet, eats like a snack bar, and can be whipped up in 10 minutes? That’s what this moist Banana Carob Snack Cake is all about.
It reminds me of a cake my mom used to make for us when we were kids – she’d pack it for our camping trips. I love the big chunks left from fork-mashing the banana and the way it pairs with the carob.
Don’t Miss This…
Alisa from One Frugal Foodie is putting together a FREE e-book filled with healthier Back-To-School snacks. She’s looking for recipes that pack a nutritional punch. Read more about her Back to School Mission on her blog.
Or This…
Carrie from Ginger Lemon Girl is featuring me on her blog today as a “Gluten-Free Must Read.” When she told me I was the first blogger in her new series I was overcome with tears of gratitude. It’s the best feeling in the world to know that a fellow blogger admires my work enough to share it with her readers. Thanks so much, Carrie!!
Now hop on over to her blog and see what she has to say!
What’s your families favorite healthier snack?
This post is linked to Pennywise Platter.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups fork mashed, ripe banana (about 3 medium bananas)
- 1/3 cup palm sugar
- 1/4 cup canola or grapeseed oil
- 1/4 cup 1% milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups sorghum-garfava flour blend
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup unsweetened carob chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together mashed banana, palm sugar, oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour blend, baking soda, cinnamon, xanthan gum, and salt. Dump dry ingredients onto wet ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in carob chips.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 – 18 minutes until snack cake is firm and a toothpick tests clean. Let cool completely in baking pan on a wire rack before slicing. Freeze individual pieces for an easy snack for lunches, enjoy with a cup of afternoon tea, or serve as a breakfast cake.
Deanna
posted on August 19, 2010 at 4:52 am
This looks super yummy. My mom made a similar one, too. Of course it was filled with margarine and sugar. I’ll definitely be trying this one!
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Natalie (The City Sisters)
posted on August 19, 2010 at 8:04 am
Amy, these look great! Being back in school myself, I’ve been looking for healthy and hearty snacks to get me through the long days. I’m so afraid that late-night studying will lead to horrible snacking habits. This is exactly the type of recipe I’ve been looking for, so thank you!
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GFree_Miel
posted on August 19, 2010 at 8:52 am
These look fantastic. I can’t imagine any kid choosing school lunch desserts instead of these!
I remember when I was in elementary school, the lunches were always really undercooked. It was awful. Then in middle school my best friend and I ate nothing but french fries everyday. One time we gave up fries for lent and ended up eating cookies everyday instead. I love the idea of making healthy delicious snacks for kids (and adults!).
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Maggie Savage
posted on August 19, 2010 at 11:43 am
Yummy! The first time I tried carob I did not like it at all – that was years ago though. I think I’ll have to try it again now that my tastes have wisened up
I tried palm sugar recently and really liked it – I used it in my quinoa banana muffins and they were still delish. Thanks for bringing so much good to my life Ms. Amy!
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Suzanne Collier
posted on August 19, 2010 at 1:33 pm
My hubby, MM, says he would like for me to fix this for his lunchbox! LOL! “Snack” and “Cake” all in the same sentence? I’m in!
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Miz Helen
posted on August 19, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Carrie at Ginger Lemon Girl did a great review of your blog and upcoming cook book. I agree with everything she said, I would give you my Texas Star Award!
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Kelly Holderby
posted on August 19, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Amy, what brand of carob chips do you use? I’ve not had any luck finding any without malt in them.
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Amy Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 10:57 am
@Kelly Holderby, I get unsweetened carob chips from Whole Foods in the bulk section. No malt.
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Cara
posted on August 20, 2010 at 8:11 am
I don’t have kids yet either, but I definitely plan on feeding them much more nutritiously than how I was brought up. And like you, I see no reason not to make this cake for myself, despite not having kids. Sounds wonderful!
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gfe--gluten free easily
posted on August 20, 2010 at 11:46 am
I love baking with bananas and chocolate. I’m sure carob is just as lovely. This snack cake looks irresistible, Amy!
Will check out Alisa’s mission for sure. That’s an admirable and needed mission! Those lunches can be appalling. My advice would be to stay away from things in little packages, even the gf packages for the most part.
I saw Carrie’s post on you–how true it was and what a nice highlight for her series! We all love you, Amy!
Shirley
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Alta
posted on August 20, 2010 at 12:45 pm
You mentioned these the other day (on Facebook? Guess that’s where it’d have to be…I can’t remember!) and I couldn’t wait to see the recipe. They sound great! I saw Carrie’s post on you – so glad to see you getting even more recognition out there in the GF community! Woohoo! So, regarding the unsweetened carob chips – since I’m not that familiar with using carob chips – would these taste similar to unsweetened chocolate? Could I substitute chopped unsweetened chocolate? Just trying to make use of what’s already in my kitchen!
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Amy Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
@Alta, Unsweetened carob is still sweet. I know…kind of confusing. Carob is naturally sweet. You can also get it malt sweetened which has gluten in it. No good for celiacs. Don’t use unsweetened chocolate…it’ll taste horrible! Use regular old chocolate chips.
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Alta Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
@Amy, That’s what I was thinking (regarding the unsweetened chocolate), so I wasn’t “getting” the carob chip thing. LOL I will definitely be making these then, as soon as I either get carob or chocolate chips!
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Alta Reply:
August 21st, 2010 at 7:55 pm
@Alta, So I found that I had a recipe for making carob chips in my Nourishing Traditions cookbook – woohoo! So I made these tonight. One of the kids liked them, one declared them “awesome”. John really liked them though – and that’s a feat. He’s not much for cake or sweets. I loved them.
Amy Reply:
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:40 pm
@Alta, You are incredible…making your own carob chips. Glad the kids liked this. I do, too.
Zoe @ Z's Cup of Tea
posted on August 21, 2010 at 1:08 am
Amy, I saw this and thought, how wonderful! I’d love to have some of this cake right now. It doesn’t look like an especially sweet cake – like the kind you’d make for a special occasion. It looks like a good, substantial kind of cake to sink your teeth in. Of course, it makes it harder for me to decide what recipe(s) of yours I am going to make for Adopt a GF Blogger, but that’s part of the fun!
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Zoe @ Z's Cup of Tea
posted on August 21, 2010 at 1:14 am
Oh, I forgot to add to my comment – I saw roasted carob powder at my Whole Foods today, which I’ve never seen before. Do you have any experience with it, and if so, your opinion? My Mum and I think it might taste better than regular carob powder.
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Amy Reply:
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:47 pm
@Zoe @ Z’s Cup of Tea, I like regular carob powder better than roasted carob powder because the flavor of the roasted carob is too intense for me. It’s a personal preference, of course.
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Aubree Cherie
posted on August 25, 2010 at 11:24 am
Hi Amy,
I wanted to let you know that I added this snack cake recipe to my favorite recipes from last week! Just this morning I made my own version of it (not too much different, mainly just with chopped dates instead of carob.) It was fabulous!
~Aubree Cherie
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Amy Reply:
August 25th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
@Aubree Cherie, Chopped dates sound fabulous! Thanks for adding me to your favorites…on my way to check it out.
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Sommer @ A Spicy Perspective
posted on September 1, 2010 at 9:39 pm
I’ve never baked with carob before, but I’m now feeling inspired!
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City Share
posted on September 4, 2010 at 8:10 am
I don’t have kids (yet) either, but it’s amaing how September gets me in that back-to-school/season of fresh beginnings spirit too. These snack cakes look great. I love the idea of sweetening them with bananas.
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Karen
posted on August 22, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Well now…. doesn’t this look DELISH?!?!
With 4 banana lovers in the house, I always have frozen bananas on hand (there’s always 1-2 that everyone shirks because it’s bruised…. I cannot throw away good food, I freeze it!) and I have a package of unsweetened carob chips just WAITING for a good recipe….. looks like I found it! I think I’m going to make it TODAY!
I too am gluten-free / sugar-free, and have just started dabbling in creating/modifying recipes to fit my needs. Your blog helps me tremendously! Thank you!
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Karen Reply:
August 22nd, 2011 at 3:30 pm
@Karen, Just a note….. I made these TODAY, and triplet #2 just said “YUMMY!” when he finished his snack cake! This is so totally lunch box friendly, and excellent for snacking, or dessert! I can imagine a dollop of SF cool whip, with a dash of cinnamon on top for a nice weekday dessert!
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Amy Reply:
August 22nd, 2011 at 10:51 pm
@Karen, Yea!
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Amy Reply:
August 22nd, 2011 at 10:51 pm
@Karen, Thank you, Karen! So good to hear that you’re finding recipes to fit your needs. I always love hearing about variations so please feel free to share how you modify recipes.
Hugs,
Amy
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Brenda
posted on August 30, 2011 at 4:35 am
These were a hit at my house… and they work very nicely in my sons lunch bag.
Very easy recipe, and it tastes much sweeter than we expected. This one will be made again and again.
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Amy Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 2:23 pm
@Brenda, Hi Brenda! Good! I think this is a great cake, too. Thanks for coming back to share your experience with me.
Hugs,
Amy
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Karen
posted on October 2, 2012 at 3:35 pm
OMG……. I love these! I followed your recipe to the T, except I replaced 3/4 cup gf flour blend with 3/4 cup coconut flour. I increased the milk to 1/2 cup since the flour was going to soak it up…… I used “so delicious vanilla coconut milk”…… these came out moist, flavorful, and honestly, DECADENT!
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Amy Reply:
October 10th, 2012 at 10:45 pm
@Karen, So glad you like it, Karen. Thanks for sharing your spin on the recipe.
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