Keto Jackfruit Banana Cake. Nut-Free, Sugar-Free, incredibly tasty and less than 2g net carbs per slice. Absolutely no coconut flavour.
Don’t judge a book by its cover – they say. And it couldn’t be more true. What looks like ham cubes inside a bread loaf, is actually a delightfully moist sponge cake, with no ham or meaty taste whatsoever. Instead, expect a banana-flavour with tender pieces of banana-like fruit. It may be hard to believe, but you’ll have to trust me and try it. You will be astonished!
I’m sure you’re curious as to why I decided to use tinned jackfruit to make a banana cake. Well…it wasn’t really a choice. Ketohusband found it during a food shopping trip and proudly brought it home, excited voice telling me how low in carbs it was. Mmmmhhhh. Thanks! I hadn’t even heard of jackfruit. Let alone what it tasted like and what to do with it.
So off I went to ask Lord Google for help. Turns out that jackfruit is very common in Asian cuisine, where it is used extensively both in savoury and sweet dishes. Elsewhere, this monstrous fruit has recently become very popular in the vegan community, as a MEAT substitute. Apparently, it mimics pulled pork. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.
I also discovered that young jackfruit and ripe jackfruit are totally different in multiple ways. The young, unripened fruit must be cooked first, has no distinguishable flavour, and its consistency resembles meat shreds. The ripe fruit is sweet and can be eaten raw. But the biggest difference is in the carbohydrate content. The ripe, sweet fruit contains an insane amount of carbs. 36g net carbs per 100g, to be precise. However, the young fruit contains only 1-2g net carbs per 100g, so it is perfectly fine for low-carb and keto.
So there was my challenge. No way would I ever consider preparing or consuming a meat substitute. Thus, the only way to use this meat-like thing was to create a sweet recipe. This time, Google didn’t help. Nor did any of the social media platforms. Zero ideas, anywhere, for young jackfruit use in a dessert. So I had no choice but to get creative, both with ingredients and flavouring.
And here it is. A total revelation. My Keto Jackfruit Banana Cake may not look pretty, but it’s light, moist, and deliciously tasty. It has become our new dessert favourite, with the bonus that jackfruit boasts a super-healthy, clean keto profile.
How to Make Keto Jackfruit Banana Cake
Drain and pull apart the artichoke-like jackfruit slices, discarding any stray seeds. Then simmer the pieces with sweetener. Beat eggs and sweeteners, add whipping cream, banana extract, melted butter, baking powder and a mere 60g of coconut flour (I promise you won’t taste any coconut). Incorporate jackfruit. Spoon into a silicone cake mould. Bake.
A weird, hideous, smelly fruit, that nobody in the West had heard of until recently. King of the vegan meat substitute world. And now a queenketo delight. Wonders will never cease!
⊕ UPDATES ⊕
I found jackfruit in Morrison’s (UK) for £1! It’s already shredded, soft, and a very pale beige-pink colour. It blends into the cake mix beautifully, without unsightly ham-like bits. And it has the least carb content ( 1g).
I’ve also corrected the amount of sweetener in the recipe, which was a typing error on my part.
Enjoy!
You can save this recipe or any recipe you ♥ to your Yummly collection. Scroll past the recipe box and you’ll see the button ↓
- Yield: 9 squares
- Serving: 1 square
- Calories: 164
- Fat: 14.5g
- Net Carbs: 1.8g
- Protein: 4.5g
- 210-250g canned jackfruit in unsalted water (drained - net weight) (U.S. option HERE)
- 20g powdered erythritol (U.S. option HERE)
- 80g unsalted butter
- 4 large eggs (230g net weight)
- 70g granulated erythritol (U.S. option HERE)
- ¼ tsp pure stevia powder (U.S. option HERE)
- 100g whipping cream
- 2ml (40 drops) banana flavouring (U.S. option HERE)
- 60g fine coconut flour (U.S. option HERE)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- (optional) Sukrin icing 'sugar' (U.S. option HERE) or confectioner Swerve (U.S. option HERE), or Make your Own.
- drain the jackfruit, pull the pieces apart, discard any stray seeds, and put them in a small saucepan together with 40g of the butter and the powdered erythritol; cook on medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes (until very little juice remains); set aside to cool down.
- pre-heat oven to 160° fan (175° static).
- whisk eggs until foamy, pale and doubled in volume; add granulated erythritol + stevia and whisk again to obtain a smooth, creamy mixture.
- melt the remaining 40g butter and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes.
- back to the eggs mix: add whipping cream and banana extract, and whisk again; drizzle in the melted, cooled butter as you continue to whisk; incorporate the sifted coconut flour and baking powder; then fold in the jackfruit pieces, juices included.
- pour the cake batter into a square-ish silicone mould (mine measures 18cm x 19cm internally - 7" x 7.4") and flatten it with the back of a spoon, without pressing down.
- bake the cake for 30-35 minutes, until you see a lovely, golden-brown crust.
- once completely cooled, cut into 9 squares and enjoy, with or without a dusting of icing 'sugar'.
If you can buy Morrisons Shredded Jackfruit in water, the macros will change to just 1.3g net carbs per 1/9th slice.
No refrigeration required, although I find that it tastes better when chilled.
The only way to ensure accurate measurement of ingredients is with Metric Kitchen Scales. U.S. alternative HERE.
I value your feedback! Please leave a comment below. And if you can, please share a photo of your masterpiece on social media with the hashtag #queenketo. Thank you! ♥
Can almond flour be used in place of coconut flour?
Yes. You’ll need 3-4 times the quantity of coconut flour, depending on how absorbent your almond flour is.