Oil- and sugar-free banana walnut cake with cinnamon

This banana walnut cake with cinnamon flavor is a simple dessert creation that tastes delicious even without added sugar or oil.

Nutrient profile: According to GDA guidelines, one portion of this recipe covers more than the average daily requirement of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. The ratio between linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is 4:1, which is below the recommended maximum ratio of 5:1. It also covers 75% of the daily requirement of the trace element manganese and over 50% of the recommended requirement of copper.

Walnut: The real walnut ( Juglans regia), also called tree nut, has the highest content of linolenic acid (ALA) of all nuts. They are also rich in vitamin E, zinc (an important trace element for the liver and hair, among other things) and potassium (for the heart muscle, among other things).

Cinnamon: Cinnamon is a spice made from the dried bark of cinnamon trees. Cinnamon owes its aroma primarily to cinnamon oil, which consists of 75 percent cinnamaldehyde. The cheaper cassia cinnamon or Chinese cinnamon contains coumarin, which is harmful to health in high doses. Since the amount of coumarin in the better Ceylon cinnamon is only about a hundredth of that, this is preferable.

Chia seeds: Chia seeds, which come from Mexico, are particularly characterized by their high content of calcium, iron, soluble fiber and omega-3 fatty acids.

Vanilla extract: Most commercially available vanilla extracts are liquid mixtures that use vanilla as the main ingredient. It is commonly used in the USA, whereas ground vanilla and vanilla sugar are more popular in Europe. Pure vanilla extract is a liquid extract of vanilla with about 35% ethanol. The vanilla flavorings are contained in a highly concentrated form. This is why vanilla extract has a sharp taste. Pure vanilla extract is always made from real vanilla pods.

Almond milk: Almond milk is a plant-based drink made from almonds and water. You can use commercial almond milk or make your own. See the link under "Alternative preparation". You can dilute homemade almond milk to suit your taste, but store-bought almond milk usually contains less than 10% almonds.

Bananas: Bananas contain a very well-balanced mix of carbohydrates. In terms of trace elements, bananas are the richest in copper among all fruits and vegetables. They also contain more iron than most fruits and are rich in potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and have the highest manganese content of any fruit. Manganese is particularly important for carbohydrate metabolism.

Regulate sweetness with bananas: In ripe (dessert) bananas, the starch content is reduced in relation to the sugar content due to the conversion into mono- and disaccharides. In green bananas, the starch-sugar ratio is 20:1, and at the end of ripening it is 1:20. By choosing the ripeness of the bananas, you can easily influence the sweetness of the cake.

Plant drinks: We used almond milk, which you can easily prepare yourself according to our recipe: " Raw almond milk "! Of course, you can use cashew drink, soy drink or another plant drink as an alternative. In this recipe, however, the nut aroma harmonizes well with the fine cinnamon note and the walnuts.

Almond butter varieties: Instead of white almond butter, you can also use brown almond butter. White almond butter consists of blanched almond kernels, while brown almond butter is usually made of roasted almonds with skin. As a result, the darker variety has a more intense flavor, while the lighter variety has a finer consistency and a milder aroma.