My Recipe: Whole Wheat Chocolate Banana Cake with Plums

This is an experimental recipe that I came up with to incorporate Plum Amazins into a recipe. I decided to use all healthy alternatives to see if I could make a decadent dessert that mimicked a traditional chocolate cake.
I think I did pretty well :) I'm not a baker, I'm more of a cook. I let it sit overnight. It's very moist & has a consistency that is between a cake & a brownie. You can taste the bananas--bananas & chocolate are practically best friends, by the way. The Plum Amazins reconstitute and plump up--fruity & sweet. I topped my piece with a little whipped cream--yum!

Chocolate Cake with Bananas & Plum Amazins

Minutes to Prepare: 10

Minutes to Cook: Approx. 25

Number of Servings: 12

Ingredients

• *Whole Wheat Flour, 1.5 cup 
• * Plum Amazins (Prunes), dried, .25 cup, pitted
• *Granulated Sugar, 2/3 cup 
• *Sea Salt, Fine Salt, 0.25 teaspoon 
• *Ghirardelli chocolate chips, 5 tbsp 
• *Gerber 2nd Foods (Organic) - Banana 
• *baking powder, 0.5 teaspoon 
• *Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, 0.5 teaspoon 
• *Almond Breeze, Chocolate Milk, 8 oz 
• *Cocoa Powder, Hershey's Natural Unsweetened, 2/3 Cup 
• *Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 tbsp 
• *Egg - Egg Beaters, Original, 0.25 cup 
• *Vanilla Extract, Pure. 1 teaspoon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix all ingredients together on medium speed with your mixer. Start with dry, then add wet ingredients. Add chocolate chips and plum pieces last.
3. Line the bottom of a 9x9 pan with parchment paper & rub the inside of the pan with extra virgin olive oil. Dust with flour. Discard any excess flour. NOTE: If you don't want to use the flour & oil, you can use just the parchment paper and/or cake release spray.
4. Pour mixture into pan and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes. It's ready when you can insert & remove a toothpick/knife with no batter stuck to it.
5. After you remove the pan from the oven, let it cool completely and then cover & let it sit overnight.
6. Cut into individual servings, share & enjoy. 

Optional: Top individual servings with whipped cream. A side of fresh fruit would be great with this recipe.

Tips & Info

Whole wheat flour is a good source of fiber.
Ghirardelli Chocolate chips are all natural.
Almond Breeze is a good substitute for milk & comes in different flavors.
Egg Beaters are convenient & healthy. I buy the individual cups to keep on-hand.
Olive oil is a healthy oil.
It's easy to incorporate healthy ingredients (fruit, veggies, whole wheat) into desserts.