On the heels of Food Blogger Camp I wanted to bring you a cake that epitomizes what this blog is all about. Healthy, whole food ingredients that taste great, make you feel energized & well fed. This is a banana nut bread recipe that pairs perfectly with a steamy morning cup of coffee or as pick-me-up afternoon snack. I chose to call it a “snack cake” because lets’s face it banana bread is really cake, right? It has all of the flavor of a higher calorie banana bread but none of the refined sugar and just enough healthy fat to satisfy.
From the whole grain flours to the sweet bananas – this bread/cake is different than most. Most of the sweetness comes from the bananas & the fat comes from the almond butter & sliced nuts.Pack this banana bread in your lunchbox or the kids. Serve with a cool glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee or tea.
I also have mine as a pre-workout snack. I slather a piece of this nutty cake with some extra almond butter to help get me though workouts. This is a simple cake to bake with the kids. The love to help measure ingredients, stir the batter & decorate the cake with the slivered almonds.
Slice up this banana bread so you have pieces at the ready for grab & go anytime snacks & meals. Instead of opening up overly sweetened power bars from the grocery store it is nice to have a treat like this banana bread available at anytime. My Maple Apple Pie Oat Bars and Cranberry Ricotta Cookies are two more lightened up sweets that I like to have on hand.
If you are working towards fitness & health goals in the new year, always remember to be mindful of portion sizes, even when it comes to nutrient filled sweets like this.
The slivered almonds add a nice crunch & they are fun decorations  too. A small handful inside the cake would be great also. Just mix some into the batter before you bake.
A perfect cake to have with coffee & friends.
Do you have a favorite snack cake/bread recipe? Something that can easily be disguised as decadent when it is really great for you too?
Banana Bread/Cake Recipe Links
- Banana Bread Dine and Dish
- Banana Raisin Bread Our Italian Kitchen
- Best Banana Bread Sophistimom
- Pumpkin Spice Orange Banana Bread Bars Healthy Happy Life
- Trail Mix Banana Bread cuiZoo
This looks delicious! I like to call sweet bread ‘snack cakes’ too 🙂
I need to try cooking with Stevia Powder!
I love this recipe! I also like the almonds all neatly
stacked in a row. 🙂
I definitely enjoy a flavorful and healthy slice of banana
bread in the morning. Beats the Starbucks version on SO many
levels. Looks so tasty Marla! xo
So many stunning pictures in this post… how on earth do
you choose which one for foodgawker??? I LOVE the gorgeous almonds
and the helping hands!! Blessings! Amanda
Love these two delicious flavors. The cake would make the
perfect snack!
Yum! I have some browning bananas on my counter that need
baking. Yay! Your photos are just beautiful! Thank you for the
recipe! As for my favorite go to healthy, yet delicious snack would
have to be Healthy Apple Pecan Muffins:
http://chocolateandcarrots.com/2011/01/healthy-apple-pecan-muffins
Love this loaf! I always have brown bananas too:)
This looks delicious and I love how you arranged the
almonds on top :).
Your pictures always make me swoon and you are the only one
who has ever made me wish I’d gone Canon instead of Nikon! I love
how bright and clear your pics are. Your camp pics were stunning,
by the way! This looks like a delicious snack cake… and for
breakfast? Heck yeah!
The nuts make your cake so pretty I just want to dig in.
I’ve never used almond butter (I know!) or tried baking with the
stevia powder. I need to try it soon!
I love the almonds neatly lined on top! And thanks for the
Stevia powder tip.
Do you always bake with low fat milk? I’ve never thought of
that. What a great recipe. After getting to know you I believe in
your recipes 100%. You amaze me Marla.
Beautiful cake! I looks simple and delicious…I love cakes
like this for breakfast!
Beautiful photos. Am intrigued by your use of corn flour.
At first I thought it was to be gluten-free, but there is
wheat!
A delicious looking bread! Your little helper is so cute.
Cheers, Rosa
Gotta love those helping hands x
Such a beautiful and versatile cake, Marla! I would love to
toast a slice, spread on some cream cheese and strawberries, and
serve it with tea for breakfast…delicious!
Looks fabulous as always. Your photos are beyond phenomenal on a consistent basis. I have a breakfast bread on my site too today that’s snack-ish too. I love yours and will try it this weekend. Great minds think alike
this is by far the prettiest snack cake i’ve ever seen…can i come over for my snack later? 🙂
Heather: Of course you can come over for a snack! I would love to meet you for real 🙂
Georgia: *kisses* you are a sweetheart! Glad I can make healthy look tasty too….It is possible to have it all, yes??
Alison: Yes, you & I do think a lot alike when it comes to recipe development. It would be so fun to speak with you at a conference on recipe development!
Adair: I like to use the corn flour for a few reasons – I love the fine texture & crumb it adds to baked goods. Also, it has a mild sort of nutty flavor that pairs well with the whole wheat pastry flour. You don’t have to use it, but I really dig it. Worth it to try experimenting with – I think!
Marla, I’m endlessly amazed with your skill for making healthy food look incredibly tasty and your ability to set up a gorgeous photograph! Thank you for sharing this bread and your talents in the kitchen and behind the camera lens! You’re an inspiration to us all.
I love this. It looks so moist and delicious. We have a ton of bananas to use up too. Perfect timing!
I love the little almonds on top! It really adds to the look of the cake. This recipe sounds delicious!
I love how the sugar and fat in this are worked in through
super healthy ingredients! This definitely epitomizes what you’re
about Marla! Healthy food that tastes amazing!
This looks awesome and I love how your son is helping you
in the kitchen. Such a sweet picture! And thank you for your emails
and friendship. Means the world 🙂 xoxo
I’ve never used almond butter in baking, will have to try
this!
This looks so crumbly and delicious. I going to make this
next time I have enough ripened bananas
What a gorgeous loaf topping it with those sliced almonds
was genius! Looks like someone definitely learned a food styling
tip or two during that Cancun trip, your photos look great
Marla!
Josie: You are a doll, I actually shot this cake before the
Mexico trip. I did think it was fun to line up those almonds
though. I tend to be a perfectionist so that little task was fun
for me.
so pretty and sounds delicious, okay-NOW I’m hungry 🙂
Gorgeous! I love what you did with the sliced almonds.
Really beautiful, healthy food. Your blog is an oasis.
xxoo
This is so darn pretty, Marla! It must have taken you a bit
of time to line up those sliced almonds so perfectly. The almond
butter and bananas are a wonderful addition for keeping the cake
moist and the fat content low.
your little man is the cutest thing ever – sooooo serious!!
as always Marla, appreciate your spirit AND your recipes!
Gorgoeus!!! I love that you used stevia in this! I’ll be
making!
I made this bread but instead of the 1 cup of corn flour I
used 1 cup of Boku protein powder, which is an organic rice protein
and has a light maple flavor. They turned out FANTASTIC. So yummy,
and lots of “protein with my protein.” Thanks for the
recipe!
Jyl: I am so happy that my banana cake recipe worked out for you! I must track down that Boku protein powder, I have never heard of it. Great that it worked & added some protein to the recipe. Hope you have cake left to enjoy with coffee this weekend 😉
Sounds so good and looks even better. Bookmarking this one for later!
it’s amazing what a simple layer of almonds on top can do to make this so classy! well done, marla. 🙂
Wow – this is a great recipe. I posted my own Gluten Free
take on banana bread today – what a coincidence! The almonds on the
top are really pretty. Love your blog! – Catherine
this looks great love your little helper 🙂
Love the beautiful arrangements of almonds on top. The perfect finishing touch.
This looks like perfection in a loaf pan! The recipe of course is wonderful, but the taste is enhanced by the helping hands. Well done!
You gotta love a recipe that calls for the fruit to be past
its “prime.” Bananas never go to waste in this house. If I don’t
have enough to make a bread, I just peel them and pop them in the
freezer. When I have enough…it’s banana bread time. Like that you
add almonds to yours.
Pamela: I know, usually we have to throw fruit out when it gets old. Thankfully banana bread is so simple to make & we usually have all the ingredients on hand to throw it together. I will remember to freeze them too when I don’t have quite enough on hand. Are you going to Camp Blogaway again this year?
I’m not going this year.
This looks so good! I’m working on an apricot bread and I
might need to use almonds, this looks so good!
Love the almond addition!
I love this banana cake! Great recipe, thank you!
Love this recipe. I’m a big fan of breakfast breads, and these flavors totally work for me. Good idea to spread w/ almond butter as a pre-workout snack! Yum!
Lori: I know breakfast breads are champs around here – especially now that I can make them so healthy. Sometimes it is hard to practice portion control, but well worth it to do so 🙂 With the nut butter topping it has replaced my pre-workout packaged power bars.
That banana bread looks so good! I love the almonds on top.
Your little helper is adorable, too!
Looks tasty! Love finding recipes that call for whole wheat
pastry flour. Will definitely have to try this.
Marla—
As a long-time banana bread lover, I enjoyed reading your post and look forward to trying this recipe! Not only is this Banana Almond Snack Cake a healthy treat, it also includes a lot of kid-friendly steps that I’m sure other parents will love to try with their kids too.
Involving kids in the kitchen enables them to learn all about the food they eat (like the importance of using alternatives to sugar!), while teaching them valuable skills like math and problem solving at the same time. That’s why I work with The Kids Cook Monday, a campaign that encourages families to set aside the first day of every week to cook and eat together as a family. (More info: http://www.mondaycampaigns.org/the-kids-cook-monday).
We’re looking for people who would like to submit kid-friendly recipes like this one to be featured on the Kids Cook Monday website, launching in mid March. We would love to feature some of your recipes, crediting you and linking back to Family Fresh Cooking, of course. If you’re interested in submitting recipes, please email me at TheKidsCookMonday@gmail.com.
Thanks!
Shelby
Marla – What’s your favorite brand of almond butter? We’ve
tried a few and they are all so different!
Skinny Fat Kid: I have two favorites – Trader Joe’s makes almond butter with toasted flaxseed. Can’t get enough of that stuff. I also love Barney Butter. I like to buy almond butter with just salt in it, really adds to the flavor. Hope that helps you out.
I am about to try this recipe, to bake as a little “sweet but healthy treat” for my sister and mom, but before I do, I want to make sure it is not going to be one of those healthy-for-the-stomach-but-not-for-the-mouth crumbly bread recipes. I just want to make sure that I am about to make a truly mouth-watering sweet bread, one that is healthy, and delicious. I would really appreciate it!
This looks so yummy!
I love how you bake, with whole wheat flour, stevia, and healthy fats – just how I want kids and their families to learn to bake. It makes these “sweet” treats easy on the waist and good on the tongue! Question: When a recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups sugar and you swap with stevia, what do you add for bolk? I’m trying 1 cup apple sauce in a brownie recipe… Comments?
Hi Vinny. Thanks for your comment. I don’t generally add too much for bulk ~ sometimes more egg or whole grain flours. I love blanched almond meal too!
Oh my goodness this looks to die for!
Looks mighty good: really moist.