banana oat cake, gluten-free & vegan

I'm always, always, always finding recipes on other blogs that I'm dying (in the moment, anyway) to try out on my own.  I'm also always, always, always guilty of not doing it. 

I have multiple folders stuffed with recipes clipped from magazines.  The folders continue to grow fatter.

I have a Pinterest account, primarily, to bookmark the recipes I find online.  A digital recipe folder, if you will.  The bits or bytes or whatever the hell you want to call them, those babies are growin' fatter every day, too.

My mom sends me envelopes full of recipes that she clips out of magazines and newspapers.  Luckily (for my hoarder status), she hasn't sent one in awhile.

Whenever I see that the new Bon Appetit has hit the news stands at Safeway, I check my P.O. box daily until I see mine folded up inside there.  I get giddy.  Bon Appetit day is definitely a good day.

I collect cookbooks, too.

I haven't read many of them.

My sweetheart thinks I may have a problem.

Don't even ask me about all of the salts and vinegars I have stashed away.  I have a separate fridge for vinegars and flours, if that tells you anything about my habits.

I want to change, though!  Well, kind of.  Don't get me wrong, I have no plans to stop gathering recipes, or salts, for that matter. And don't even suggest the idea of giving up Bon Appetit - that's not gonna happen.

I have to face facts. The recipe folders, paper and virtual alike, aren't goin on a diet anytime soon.  I guess I just want to get my ass into the kitchen more often and start using them.  Lately, I feel like I've been too content with the old standbys. 

So, I'm doing it. I'm making a pact, right here, right now.

I, Ms. Blubaugh, do solemnly swear, that I will no longer neglect the recipes that I have hoarded... uhh, collected, and that I promise to try out at least one new recipe from a cookbook/folder/Pinterest each week.

OK, I think I just made a pact with myself, and I'm not sure if that's what a pact even is, but I'm gonna roll with it.

Self, don't screw this up.

The idea for this banana oat cake came, originally, from a girl at work.  She said she'd tried this banana cake recipe that was gluten-free, but she couldn't remember where she'd found it online.  So I sleuthed around a bit and found it on the blog Oh, She Glows.  If you haven't checked it out yet, please do.  The author, Angela Liddon, has a super inspiring story and features tasty vegan recipes on her site.

I'm a fan, for sure.

For the cake, I tweaked a few things to make it more my style (I can never leave well enough alone), but the recipe works quite well, and I had pretty much all of the ingredients on hand already = bonus.

The oats made for a chewy texture and hearty vibe, while the banana flavor and chocolate chips provided the flavor party that commenced in my mouth.  My sweetheart wasn't into the sweetness (go figure) or the chocolate (allergic, poor girl), but that inspired me to turn this into a more savory, chocolateless muffin recipe.

Stay tuned!

Banana Oat Cake with Chocolate Chips

based on this recipe from Oh She Glows

makes 1- 8" cake

gluten-free, vegan

2 C. GF oats, processed into flour

1/2 C. GF oats (unprocessed)

1/4 C. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 T. coconut oil, melted

2 very ripe bananas

1/3 C. applesauce

1/4 C. unsweetened coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 ripe banana, cut into small chunks

3/4 C. vegan chocolate chips

powdered sugar, for garnish

• Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Grease an 8" cake pan, and set aside.

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the first 7 ingredients.

• In a smaller bowl, mix oil, applesauce, coconut milk, and vanilla, until well combined.  Add in the 2 very ripe bananas and smash into wet ingredients until smooth.

• Add wet mixture to dry and stir until just combined.  Fold in the banana chunks and chocolate chips.

• Spread batter into prepared pan and bake approximately 35 minutes, until top is golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

• Cool completely in pan on rack.  Run knife around edges of pan and invert onto serving platter.  Sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar and serve.

• Store leftovers in fridge for up to 3 days.

This recipe is also featured on:

Cybele Pascal - Allergy Friendly Friday

Carole's Chatter - Food on Friday's