I love having sweet treats hidden in the freezer – and banana chocolate is such a winning combination, right? These fruity, luscious little cakes are surprisingly easy to whip up. Creaminess comes from ripe bananas & the soft flesh of young coconut, while the base is chunky, nutty & dotted with chocolate. There are also chocolate chips hidden inside the creamy filling.
Using my silicon cupcake moulds, I made 12 small (not tiny) cakes and 6 slightly larger ones.
Base
1 cup whole natural almonds
1 ¼ cups pitted dates
½ tsp pure vanilla
2 Tbsp gently melted coconut oil
¾ cup dessicated coconut
40g dark chocolate
Filling
1 cup cashew pieces
½ cup of flesh from a young Thai coconut *
2 ripe bananas
¼ cup rice milk (or milk/mylk of choice)
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp maple syrup
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup chocolate chips (I used dairy free dark chips)
Garnish
A few squares of dark chocolate, melted
* not the brown husked coconuts! The young ones are usually wrapped in clingfilm in the chilled produce section of your supermarket or fruit shop. You’ll need to hack the top off (yep it’s tough! There are YouTube tutorial videos out there) to reveal the interior: they’re full of delicious coconut water – drain this off & save it for later. The coconut flesh/meat inside is white, soft & juicy. I scoop it out with a teaspoon…and force myself not to eat it all on the spot…
Start by making the bases: put all ingredients into a food processor & whiz until a chunky but cohesive ‘dough’ forms. Using damp hands, press the mixture evenly into small muffin trays. (If you’re using silicon, you shouldn’t need to grease them with a dash of coconut oil first) Put the trays into the fridge or freezer to cool down while you work on the filling.
Put all ingredients into the rinsed-out food processor & blend until you have a smooth, luscious cream. Pour it evenly on top of the prepared bases & pop into the freezer to set.
Once hardened, gently melt the remaining chocolate & use a teaspoon to spread strands across the wee cakes as a decorative garnish.
Store cakes in the freezer. They can be eaten straight from the freezer, as an especially chilly treat, but I prefer them once left to thaw for a few minutes.
I was just going to ask you all the questions about the coconut and then you totally answered it all in your comment below the ingredients! I am going to have to search around in the local supermarkets for these… not sure how common they are in the UK or Ireland. Maybe the Asian supermarket will have them lurking somewhere… Otherwise I wonder if you can get an equivalent in a can? Or am I being ignorant?!
Hey Vicky! Oooh the young coconuts are so good! On this side of the world, you can pick them up in the supermarket or fruit store (never seen coconut meat in a can, sorry) They’re white & wrapped in clingfilm. Opening them can be pretty hardcore – you have to hack a hole in the top (in the islands, they use machete-like blades with great skill & ease) then drain the fresh water & scoop out the luscious soft white meat. Coconuts never fail to amaze me with their versatility! I do hope you find one – or you’ll just have to come visit me! 😉