Mango Banana Cake

This is a cake I’ve made for a friend. She LOVES macca so I thought I’d make her a macca cake. I don’t know much about it and it took me a while to track some down. Got some from Greenies, Rapid Creek Darwin, in powder form. It’s one of these faddy Peruvian foods. I wonder if these food exports help or hinder the Peruvians? I wonder how it affects the land? A research project for another day, perhaps. Nope, strike that, I’m searching for it now- burning question, needs answering.

I generally, as a naturopath, ignore food fads. Every single ‘new’ food/herb that comes from an indigenous culture, is touted as the latest cure-all. You do get a bit jaded with it after a while, especially when people try to turn these foods into businesses using pyramid marketing schemes. Naturopaths get nagged because sellers see us (and our clientele) and get dollar signs in their eyes. Okay, so I’m a bit cynical, maybe they see people they are trying to help, but nonetheless, these foods are no more amazing than the ones we already use and eat and ignore. Boring old apples are super foods. So are cucumbers and walnuts. We just haven’t researched them much, they aren’t novelties any more and it’s harder to make money out of them.

Alright, so here comes some research:

I like THIS article. Brilliant stuff. Couldna said it better myself. Heres another interesting one.

Anyway, ethics aside for a moment… (the world is complicated!), my friend says Macca has helped her hormonal balance, so I’m making a happy hormone cake for her.  At the same time, I’m weaving some magic into this cake both for my friend, and for the Peruvians. My friend has requested ‘motivation to exercise’ magic so I’m weaving this in. For the Peruvians, I give them back the spirit of this macca. May they reclaim ownership over their own food. I use this powder once only, for love. For my friend. For the Peruvians. Blessed Be.

Here’s the recipe, minus the Macca. I’m hoping we can acknowledge the remaining ingredients as super foods in their own right, even if they don’t seem very exotic to the romantic inner child in all of us.

Base

1 tablespoon of coconut oil

1 cup oats

15 dates

Process the oats first, then add the other two ingredients. This does make for a hard, sticky layer in the end product. I like it, but if you want something lighter, replace the oats with almonds. Press this into the bottom of a cake tin- one with spring-open sides so you can easily set it free after it sets.

Mango layer

1 peeled and frozen banana

2 cups of mango

4 dates

Blend in food processor! Spread over base layer and put in freezer until you are ready to spread the last layer. 

Banana layer

2 frozen bananas

1/2 cup of shredded coconut

1 vanilla pod (cut open and scrap out insides)

a squeeze of stevia (optional)

Blend in food processor then spread over the top. Put in freezer and wait for it to set (e.g. overnight). Slice and serve!