VEGAN CORNCAKE WITH FRIED BANANAS AND COCONUT WHIP
Notes: I’ve recently started experimenting more with vegan baking because I want to be more plant-based and also because I know from personal experience that a lot of vegan baked goods can taste just as good as their non-vegan counterparts. This vegan corncake (really a cornbread) is astoundingly soft and delicious and by making this I’m reminded that I don’t need to use dairy to make things taste good. Also, since most plant oils are far less saturated than butter you often end up with very soft baked goods when you sub oil and don’t use eggs. I wanted a soft, tender corn cake with lots of corn flavor and this recipe really gives that. Now pan-fry bananas caramelized in dark brown sugar and cinnamon, then toast a piece of corncake in the remaining oil and wow! The final touch is a simple, lightly sweetened coconut whip to add some creaminess to all this goodness.
Make sure to refrigerate the coconut cream and get it really cold before whipping it. Cake flour is used to keep the cake very soft and tender. As usual, ingredients noted in grams were weighed and cup measures are approximations.
Total time: 55 mins
Special Equipment:
9” x 5” stainless steel loaf pan
These are the loaf pans I have and use (easy to clean and reliable): E-far Loaf Pan for Baking Bread, 9 x 5 Inch
Electric hand mixer (for coconut whp)
Ingredients:
70 g (1/2 cup) yellow corn meal
1 Teaspoon corn starch
~1/2 cup water
1 Teaspoon neutral oil
125 g (1 cup) cake flour
1/2 Teaspoon Salt (I used pink Himalayan)
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
115 g (1/2 cup) neutral oil (e.g., canola or avocado oil)
130 g (1/2 cup) soy or almond milk, unsweetened
I used soy milk because it’s protein content and consistency are similar to cow’s milk and I like the taste. Almond or even oat milk could be used too.
95 g (½ cup) sugar
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
Dark brown sugar, for dusting on top
Coconut whip:
5.4 fl oz (160 mL) Heavy coconut cream
Use the coconut cream cold right out of the fridge
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt to taste
Fried bananas:
3 Tablespoons coconut oil
Banana, cut into ~1.5 cm thick medallions.
Use half to one whole banana per slice of cake.
1.5 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 Teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Thoroughly oil your metal loaf pan and place a cut piece of parchment paper and oil above the parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl add the corn meal then add the water, 1 tsp oil and corn starch and whisk thoroughly. Microwave for 30 seconds to allow the corn meal to quickly absorb the water and start to meld with the corn starch. Whisk after microwaving too.
Add plant milk, oil, vanilla, sugar and lemon juice to the corn paste and whisk until well combined.
In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix well.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and fold into the batter with a spatula until just incorporated. Don’t overmix.
Immediately pour the batter into a prepared cake pan and sprinkle the top with dark brown sugar (which adds to the flavor and helps caramelize the top). Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for about 30-35 mins. At 30 mins check the doneness with a cake tester or toothpick. If it comes out clean pull out the cake.
The cake is very delicate so let it cool completely before removing from the pan.
Whip cold heavy coconut cream (right out of the fridge) with powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt until you get soft peaks. Unless you’re using coconut cream with a lot of stabilizers added or a whipping additive the most you will get are soft peaks, which is just fine for this. Place the whipped cream back into the fridge until ready to use.
Cut banana medallions about 1.5 cm thick and fry for about 2 mins on each side in coconut oil, brown sugar, cinnamon and add a pinch of salt to really bring out the caramel notes.
Slice a piece of the corn cake and fry in the remaining oil, sugar, and cinnamon from the bananas until you get a light toast on each side.
Plate the fried corn cake, then top with fried bananas and whip to your taste. Eat it warm, so good!
You can keep the corncake in the fridge for many days too.