Dylan, one of my loveliest friends, celebrated her birthday at the end of August, and despite finding out her favourite desserts (cheesecake or crème brûlée, yum!) from her sister I was still sick AND we had a bunch of very ripe bananas, so this cake happened instead. Not that this was a bad thing, it was super delicious! (But Dylan, I owe you some crème brûlée.)

The recipe is from one of my favourite blogs, Heidi Swanson’s 101 cookbooks, and is actually a banana bread but works fabulously as a cake! Dress it down by preparing it in a loaf pan and skipping the icing, or you can put it in a bundt pan like she did for something a little fancier.  I went somewhere in the middle and just used a round 9-inch cake pan.

The combination of banana baked with a bright lemon twist was something I had never actually tasted before and I was delighted. Studded with dark chocolate, it’s irresistible. I will admit to eating this for dessert and breakfast, and taking it to work as a treat (it travels really well!) so I certainly won’t judge if you do the same. In fact, it is encouraged.

As far as dessert goes, this one is pretty “guilt free” with whole wheat flour, olive oil, and yogurt as some of the main ingredients.  If you don’t feel like chopping up chocolate, I used bittersweet chocolate chips and it worked out perfectly. The glaze that Heidi suggests was nice, but I actually preferred the cake without. If I were to ice it next time, I think I might indulge in a chocolate topping (no such thing as too much chocolate!).

Whether yours ends up as a loaf or a cake, I hope you enjoy it! Happy weekend!