That was a reader’s comment about my baked sweet potato fries. I was immediately hurt after reading this and tried thinking of anything I could have done differently/could do differently in this recipe to prevent such negative feedback.

So I pouted, got a little defensive and then calmed down. I remembered a common phrase I’ve rehashed over the years — “Not every person you meet is going to like you; that’s ok. With everything you do, someone will disapprove; that’s ok. Something you say will rub someone wrong and/or they will disagree; that’s ok. And specific to the blog and the passion I have for food and cooking/baking— with every recipe you make and create, there will be someone who dislikes it; that’s ok.”

For me, this is easier said that done. I’m a perfectionist so being okay with the “that’s ok” part is a hard to swallow. I’m constantly working on accepting the fact that I am not perfect, not everyone will like me, not everything I say will be accepted by everyone who hears it and my goodness, my recipes just may not suit every single person who makes them. For the last one, I do apologize since I strive to make healthy, creative and delicious recipes but at least some people still enjoy my eats, and for those of you out there – THANK YOU!

Stepping down from my soap box…I think it’s time for cake 🙂 Banana cornmeal cake to be exact — a tender crumb, sweetened with ripe bananas and earthy brown rice syrup. This cake just happens to be vegan too. Now I don’t think I will be hearing negative comments about this one, it’s delicious and adapted from Hope for Healing.

I’ll admit, a huge slice of this cake cheered me right up 🙂 Do you need a little happy boost yourself? Maybe you want something sweet to snack on? Cut yourself a slice and dig in, I give you full permission!

Vegan Banana Cornmeal Cake

“The worst recipe ever! I followed the recipe and all the potatoes were stuck on the parchment paper. If you want to loose half of the potatoes and present something looking really crummy, go ahead! Not worth it!”

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Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup millet flour (buckwheat or brown rice could be subbed)
• 1/4 cup oat flour (millet flour or brown rice could be subbed)
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour/starch
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of sea salt
• 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum
• 1 tsp of pure vanilla
• 3/4 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk) OR 1/2 cup non-dairy milk + 1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
• 1/4 cup brown rice syrup (agave or maple  syrup could be subbed)
• 4 small ripe bananas, pureed or well mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil, earth balance or grapeseed oil
• 3 Tbsp chopped walnuts (pecans or almonds), optional (omit for nut-free)

Instructions

 

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 8-inch round springform pan or 8X8 dish and set aside.
• 2. In a small bowl or cup, combine non-dairy milk and the 2 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar  Let milk mixture sit for 5-10 minutes to form a buttermilk like liquid to eventually mix with the whole batter.
• 3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of the flours and dry ingredients. Add vanilla, brown rice syrup, applesauce and oil to the dry ingredients and stir. Lastly add the banana and the milk-lemon mixture and mix well. Fold in nuts if using.
• 4. Let it start to rise and foam a bit from the baking powder and soda, then pour batter into prepared pan. Smoothy out the top with a spatula because it will bake how it looks, then bake for 40-45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the middle can be tested with a pick to ensure it is cooked through*.

*make sure there is no gooey middle in the pan (I was impatient and the middle was not cooked through.The cake fell in middle after removing it from the oven. I cut out the gooey middle with a small biscuit cutter, added it to a bowl and microwaved it for 45 seconds to fully cook – yummy and I didn’t waste any batter :).