Iced Banana Pecan Cake [Vegan, Gluten-Free]

Contents

Iced Banana Pecan Cake [Vegan, Gluten-Free]Ingredients You Need for Iced Banana Pecan Cake [Vegan, Gluten-Free]How to Prepare Iced Banana Pecan Cake [Vegan, Gluten-Free]Nutritional Information Iced Banana Pecan Cake [Vegan, Gluten-Free]

People often ask me how I do it, eating a vegan diet. They sound bewildered that I can give up things like milk chocolate, pizza, or Lucky Charms. I know what you’re thinking, clearly my friends have stupendous tastes in food.

They obviously equate veganism with deprivation.

I’m a vegan, it’s true. And the message I like to share is that being vegan isn’t about restriction. It’s not about what I can’t eat, but discovering the world of opportunity in the things I can eat. Sure, I might spend a little bit more time in the kitchen as a result, but not much. Not only is my family healthier for it, but I figure with so much time spent sitting behind a computer throughout the day, moving around in the kitchen is a wonderful way to start out an evening.

And my favorite way to end the evening is to have a slice of cake! Here’s one of our favorites, Iced Banana Pecan Cake. I’m clearly a deprived person, eh?

Not only is this cake vegan, it’s also gluten-free and packed with some nutritional punch thanks to those bananas, pecans, and chia seeds.

So, how do I do it? How do I stay on a vegan diet? Here’s my secret: lots of veggies, brown rice, tofu, a few nuts and twigs…and a slice (or two) of Iced Banana Pecan Cake.

Iced Banana Pecan Cake [Vegan, Gluten-Free]

Ingredients You Need for Iced Banana Pecan Cake [Vegan, Gluten-Free]

1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 – 4 large bananas, ripe, mashed
1 cup soy buttermilk, (soy milk with 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar added)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup brown rice flour
½ cup soy flour
½ cup corn starch
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon, (optional)
1 cup pecans, chopped

Cream Cheese Icing

1 16 oz container Vegan Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 stick Earth Balance margarine, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons soymilk

How to Prepare Iced Banana Pecan Cake [Vegan, Gluten-Free]

Cake

Heat your oven to 350F and spray a 9 X 13 cake pan with vegetable spray.
In a small bowl combine the soy milk with apple cider vinegar and set aside to the let the two ingredients combine.
Next, mix together the vegetable oil and sugar. You can use a mixer or get a little exercise by beating well by hand. Add the remaining wet ingredients (including the soy buttermilk) and the chia seeds. Stir until all the ingredients are acquainted with one another.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, corn starch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. I started with adding about half the dry ingredients to the wet, mixed that together and then added about half of the remaining dry ingredients until everything was well combined.
Finally, add the chopped pecans to the batter and stir well. Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan and bake for 40 – 50 minutes (depending on your oven). I usually insert a piece of spaghetti into the center of the cake to see if it comes out clean. If it does, then your cake is done.
Set aside the cake to cool and in the meantime, prepare your Icing.

Icing

Cream together the vegan cream cheese and margarine until smooth. Add powdered sugar a little and stir until well combined. Add soy milk one tablespoon at a time until you get the desired consistency (I like the icing to be thick, but spreadable).
Once the cake is done, removed from the oven, and cooled completely, top it with the icing and decorate with whole or chopped pecan pieces (optional).