Performance Bread, Perf Cake…I wasn’t really sure what to call this creation but once I tasted it I knew it was more cake than bread and overall as it’s packed FULL of nutrients, vitamins and minerals it’s really a perfect mid-Ride snack, but too calorie dense to just snack on all day everyday! So Point1 Ride-Cake™ it has become!
Based on a Point1 Athlete only bread I call Bulk-Bread™ this cake is easy to make, requires 2 bowls only and one cake tin. One of the main ingredients is almond flour/meal so while very high in fat the mineral content is high and as such a perfect snack item to have for rides or epic trips that are going over the 2hr mark. It has a soft tasty texture, provides a variety of multi-transportable sugars/carbohydrates, is high in magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and has small amounts of sodium! All very important for muscle function and contraction. Due to the eggs protein content is high too so in theory and based on some limited research it may help you recover quicker and lead to less muscle soreness post ride, but that is debatable for now!
So here it goes:
Dry Ingredients
1 Cup Almond flour/meal (blanched or not your choice)
Half cup of buckwheat flour, Quarter cup wholewheat flour(ahh gluten), 3-4 tbps cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder or bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon (ground
Wet Ingredients
4 eggs (free-range) lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
6 or more tbps honey (melted)
50g-75g 70%+ dark chocolate (melted)
1 very-ripe banana
Combine all wet ingredients in a bowl, until well mixed. In a large, separate bowl combine all dry ingredients until you get a nice smooth “flour”. Add wet to dry, mix well but not overly well.
Transfer everything to a baking paper lined “cake-tin”, through it in an pre-heated oven at 180c for 31mins. Take it out, cool, enjoy!
Top Tips:
If you are eating this while riding you must sip plenty of water. This is a “real-food” snack for riding so ideally only consumed after the 2hr 30min mark. Over consumption will lead to bad things mainly due to osmolity issues and subsequent stomach cramps. So be smart. 2 thickish slices with a small amount of jam between is perfect. Especially if you have had a gel, chew, fruit or other simpler carbohydrate source at the 1hr + mark into your ride.
Finally after a big days training or riding if you are searching for a simple dessert than Ride-Cake™ covered in Natural or Greek yogurt with some seeds and fruit is amazing!
And finally, finally – Feel free to remove the Wheat flour and replace with a gluten free alternative or just 1 full cup of buckwheat flour. The cocoa and half the flours could easily be replaced with your favorite protein powder to increase protein content. The cake would then become less “Ride” focused though. Likewise playing with extra honey, bananas or adding in a maltodextrin powder or other carbohydrate source to increase it’s “energy” content is fine. Possibilities are endless so go get animal in the kitchen.