Fat free desserts are less popular than they used to be, but there's still a place for them. Or at least if they taste good! I particularly like this Oil-Free Chocolate Banana Cake because I can eat a little of it in the afternoon without filling super full. I wouldn't call it a healthy cake since it has sugar (which it needs to lock in the moisture), but it's definitely ligher than some others even with the optional Chocolate Tofu Frosting.
8-Inch Pan Size Oil-Free Chocolate Banana Cake
The original recipe is from an old fat free baking cookbook, but I've made minor changes and scaled it down to fit an 8 inch square pan. Sometimes I frost it and serve it straight out of the 8-inch pan, but now that we are empty nesters I've been doing weird things like cutting out shapes and stacking them to make miniature layer cakes. Here's a little 5-inch cake covered with a Chocolate Tofu Frosting.
And here it is again with Tofu Peanut Butter Frosting.
Surprisingly Delicious Tofu Frostings!
Even if you're not interested in the Chocolate Banana Cake, I recommend trying the chocolate frosting on something. It is smooth and creamy like a buttercream, but not slick and fatty. You can taste the tofu, but barely. The Tofu Peanut Butter Frosting is also pretty good. It's basically a half batch of Recipe Club's Tofu Peanut Butter Pie made as frosting. The chocolate flavored one is slightly better than the peanut butter frosting, so I recommend trying that one first. Also, I used shelf-stable Mori-Nu Extra Firm Silken.
Here's the Chocolate Banana Cake recipe. I've included the Tofu Chocolate Frosting recipe as well, but if you want to keep the fat level down you can make the cake without it. The chocolate chips add a little richness, so I recommend keeping them in.
Recipe
Chocolate Banana Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, measure with a light hand or weigh (127 grams)
- ¼ cup unsweetened natural or Dutch process cocoa powder (20 to 24 grams) Dutch weighs a little more
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 large very ripe bananas (about 190 to 220 grams weight after being peeled, but okay to use a little more if you love banana)
- ¾ cup sugar -- don't try to reduce it (the first time!) because it helps keep the cake moist. (150 grams)
- 1 large egg white
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup whole milk soured with a teaspoon of lemon juice or use ¼ cup buttermilk
- ⅓ to ½ cup miniature chocolate chips (adds some richness)
Chocolate Frosting
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz) (170 grams)
- 6 oz extra firm silken tofu (I used shelf-stable Mori-Nu Extra Firm Silken)
- 2 tablespoons almond milk or dairy milk if not vegan
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square pan and line with a piece of parchment.
- Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas. If you weighed them, you won't need to measure the volume, just mash 180 to 190 grams of peeled banana. Add the sugar and beat by hand until well mixed, then beat in the egg white and the vanilla.
- Add the buttermilk and the flour mixture and beat by hand just until blended. Batter will probably be a little lumpy. Stir in about half the chocolate chips (if using, and I recommend using).
- Spread batter evenly in the pan. Sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake appears set. Let cool and serve by itself or frost with your favorite frosting.
Tofu Chocolate Frosting
- Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave using 50% power and stirring ever 40 to 60 seconds. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Puree the tofu (or use tofu that's alreay been pureed) and put it in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the milk, maple syrup and vanilla. Make sure that this mixture is room temperature and not too cold.
- Whisk melted chocolate (okay if it's just slightly warm) into the tofu mixture. Add vanilla.
- The frosting will be pretty thin at this point, so cover the bowl and chill for an hour or until it is thick enough to spread. You can check it every so often and give it a stir. If you have a large pastry bag, you can fit your pastry bag with a tip, pour the icing into the bag, prop it up in a glass and chill the glass with the frosting filled pastry bag until frosting is thick enough to pipe.
Sue says
This is a good recipe to use up a few things I might have thrown away otherwise. Namely bananas and buttermilk. I didn’t bother with frosting and don’t think it needs it.
I was tempted to put in the entire egg but didn’t
Anna says
Thank you so much for the comment, Tracey! It means a lot, plus it really helps because I do have some other fat free desserts (a chocolate zucchini cake) that I want to post, but wasn't sure if people would be interested. I'll share a few more soon.
Tracey says
Hi Anna,
I love this recipe since I’m a huge banana fan and I’m looking for more easy, fat-free desserts. As a long-time reader, I hope you’ll post more fat-free desserts in the future for those of us who want to have our cake and feel good about eating, too! Thank you for all you do.
Anna says
Also, I just added an update and put the type of tofu I used -- Mori Nu Extra Firm Silken. I only tested with that brand and type and am guessing it's crucial to the super smooth texture. This type of tofu is usually found in the Asian Foods section on the shelf rather than in the produce section.
Anna says
Hi Sonya!
This was a fun one. I hadn't made the Chocolate Banana Cake in a while and had forgotten just how great it was despite having no oil. The tofu frosting was a gamble, but it was so good.
Sonya says
So fun!!! I loved hearing your analysis of the fat-free desserts, too - and never would have thought of tofu frosting, how creative!