my almost 3-year-old son is obsessed with baking fun muffins, cakes and breads. we had some overripe bananas and instead of making traditional banana bread, I added a fun twist. this strawberry orange banana tea cake is lightly-sweetened, fruity and moist. a perfect breakfast, snack or dessert lightly warmed and finished with some pastured butter and a drizzle of honey. heaven!
inspiration:
I grew up in Austin and my mom had a lot of crunchy healthy-type snacks around but I would always splurge on things like sugary cereal and juices when I was at friend’s homes. haha! does anyone remember the tropicana orange strawberry banana juice? this tea cake has all of those nostalgic flavors in a delicious cake form. your kiddos will love it.
strawberry orange banana tea cake ingredients:
here is the ingredient line up…
- strawberries: we use fresh chopped strawberries in the cake batter as well as sliced to garnish the top.
- overripe brown bananas: make sure your bananas are beginning to brown and have dark spots for ultimate moist banana bread vibes.
- fresh orange: we use the zest, juice and orange segments for this cake. if you don’t want to fuss with the knife work of getting perfect orange supremes for the top of the cake, you can skip this step.
- grain-free flours: I’m using almond and tapioca flours to make this bread paleo. I haven’t tested substituting alternate flours and wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe.
- flavorings: almond extract, vanilla extract and coconut sugar add delicious flavor to the tea cake and keep it refined sugar-free.
- vanilla: pure vanilla extract is a match made in heaven with both oranges and strawberries.
- spices: fresh cinnamon and salt delicately spice the tea cake.
how to serve:
see below for some fun serving ideas to showcase this delicious strawberry orange banana tea cake.
- Valentine’s lunch: serve tea cake with my chocolate-dipped cherry protein smoothie, my wild-caught smoked salmon dip with baguette, (coming soon!), and my favorite winter salad ingredients.
- protein packed snack: top warmed and sliced tea cake with almond butter and hemp seeds.
- weekend breakfast: serve tea cake alongside bacon & cheesy scrambled eggs.
- baby shower brunch: serve tea cake alongside my curried chicken salad with fresh croissants as well as my apple walnut & Bleu Cheese Salad.
Strawberry Orange Banana Tea Cake
This Strawberry Orange Banana Tea Cake is a light and moist, lightly sweetened snacking bread made with cleaner ingredients.
Equipment
- 1 standard loaf pan, 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.6 inches
Ingredients
Wet mixture:
- 2 medium overripe bananas
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 medium orange see details in instructions
Dry mixture:
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup tapioca flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup fresh strawberries chopped plus ¼ cup sliced for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with coconut oil spray then line with parchment paper, creating overhang to easily remove cake from pan. Spray parchment paper with coconut oil spray.
- Prepare your orange. Begin by collecting 1 Tablespoon orange zest with a microplane. Set aside. If you want fancy orange slices to garnish your cake, follow step #3 or skip to step #4 if you don't need it to be fancy.
- Next, you will supreme the orange to get pretty segments to garnish the top of your cake with. Slice off the top and bottom of your orange. Stand your orange upright on the cutting board. Starting at the top of the orange, guide your knife down to the base, curving the knife with the shape of the fruit. Continue all the way around the orange until all of the rind and pith is removed. Use a paring knife to slice along the inside of the membranes, slide out your supremed orange wedges and set aside.
- Finally, juice the orange to yield 1 Tablespoon of juice.
- Begin by whisk together all wet ingredients in a medium bowl including the orange zest and juice. Save the orange supremes for garnishing.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients except for diced strawberries. When dry mixture is incorporated and smooth, fold in strawberries to coat in the dry mixture.
- Add wet mixture to the dry mixture, folding with a spatula delicately until all ingredients are well combined.
- With a spatula, gently transfer batter to the loaf pan, smoothing the top. Top batter with orange supremes and sliced strawberries.
- Bake on the middle oven rack for 55-65 min, rotating pan 180 degrees, 2-3 times throughout cooking, until cake is golden and just cooked through. Check cake with a toothpick in the center to make sure no wet crumbs remain.
- Let cool at least 20 minutes before serving, (cake need to set a bit). Because this tea cake doesn't contain preservatives, make sure to store in the refrigerator.
