Packed full of raisins, hearty oats, and crunchy pecans, this Oatmeal Raisin Banana Snack Cake is an easy-to-bake recipe that will remind you of one of your favorite childhood cookies...
So, recently my 9 year old daughter has been asking more and more to help out in the kitchen. She is even slowly beginning to make some things on her own now. While I am so glad that she is showing an interest in learning how to cook and bake (and I seriously have no desire to squash her newfound interest), I do have to make a confession- it makes the Type A, Virgo mom in me cringe slightly.
I feel kind of guilty even typing that out loud, but I can't be the only parent who feels this way when their kiddos finally start to show a little initiative in the kitchen, right? ;)
But I have decided I am going to suck it up this summer and let her help me out more when it comes to cooking dinner and baking up some tasty treats because I don't want to discourage her from learning new things and growing. Even if she leaves the batter drenched whisk sitting on the counter. And despite the fact that she might use every measuring cup and spoon that I own just to make one recipe.
Because part of the process of teaching our kids to cook and bake is to also teach them how to consolidate steps and to clean up as they go, am I right? So that is just what I am going to do- teach her. Teach her that spending time in the kitchen involves much more than just measuring out ingredients, whisking and mixing, and setting a timer.
One of the first recipes my daughter and I will be baking up together this summer will be this easy-to-make Oatmeal Raisin Banana Snack Cake. This happens to be the perfect recipe to use if you are also wanting to ease your kiddos into baking soon. I like it for this purpose because:
- there is just enough measuring to teach them how to properly use measuring cups and spoons
- they can learn the importance of why we mix dry and wet ingredients separately before combining them
- you can teach them why some ingredients are whisked together and why other ingredients are folded in
- and it also happens to taste almost exactly like an oatmeal raisin cookie, but healthier
A few tips & tricks for making this snack cake:
- If you aren't a fan of raisins, feel free leave them out or swap in chocolate chips instead.
- The chopped pecans are totally optional in this recipe, but this snack cake would also be delicious with chopped walnuts in it.
- I like the glaze for this cake because it reminds of an iced oatmeal cookie, but if you want to cut down on the sugar in this recipe then feel free to skip the glaze.
Yield: 9
Oatmeal Raisin Snack Cake
Prep time: 15 min Cook time: 35 min Total time: 50 min
Ingredients
For the snack cake
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 2 ripe bananas, peeled & mashed
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
For the vanilla glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp half & half
Instructions
To make the snack cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray the inside of a 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and oats. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, yogurt, canola oil, vanilla extract, eggs, and brown sugar until well mixed. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients whisking until just combined. Fold in the raisins and pecans.
- Evenly pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool to warm before cutting into 9 squares and pouring on the vanilla glaze.
To make the vanilla glaze
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and half & half until smooth. Pour over the snack cake after it has cooled to warm.
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