When I was requested to prepare a low fat cake, my solution was to rely heavily on mashed ripe bananas. Their creaminess is an excellent replacement for fats, and their natural sweetness helps reduce the sugar levels, all while still ending up with a very tasty cake.
The fact that the cake is also very easy to make, and can be prepared in one bowl, makes it even more appealing.
As I was planning to top the cake with these beautiful purple apricots I’ve found at the store, the cake needed a denser texture, so that the fruits will not sink to the bottom. For this reason, I’ve ended up lowering the amount of liquids to minimum. I was happy to discover that despite this, the cake did not come out dry at all. In fact, it was so tasty and aromatic that I plan to make it again, with different fruits and other additions.
Variations I’m thinking of so far include other seasonal fruits on top, chocolate chips or chopped nuts in the batter.
Another option is to bake the batter without any additions, in a loaf pan, and use it as breakfast bread. The texture is perfect for slicing and lightly toasting.
So, you are invited to use this cake recipe as is, or as a base for your experiments. I’ll be happy to hear about your take on it!
Makes: 16
Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
8 medium firm purple apricots
1 2/3 cups mashed very ripe bananas (from 4 large)
2 XL eggs
3/4 cup sugar (can be increased to 1 cup if you prefer the cake sweeter)
¼ cup real maple syrup
¼ cup oil
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 Tbs baking powder
Dash salt
1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Line an 8” (20cm) X 11” (28cm) baking pan with baking paper.
2. Cut the apricots in half and remove the pit. Set aside.
3. Place the mashed bananas in a large bowl. Add the eggs, sugar, maple syrup, oil, cinnamon and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix well to a thick batter.
Pour the batter into the pan. Place the apricots halves on top, cut side down.
4. Bake for 45 minutes, until the batter is golden and the fruit soft. Place on a rack to cool before cutting.
Really nice cake, no fat other than whats in the egg yolks (minimal) low sugar and it looks really moist and delicious!
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Thank you Suzanne! I’m glad you liked the idea. Note that there is 1/4 cup oil on top of the eggs, but it is really quite a small amount compared to most cakes, so it’s definitely falls under “low fat” category. 🙂
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I’m glad you pointed that out. I didn’t catch that. Still a small amount.
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The final presentation square is quite attractive and limits the size of the serving.
Virtual hugs,
Judie
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Yes, it does limit the size of the portions, but it usually never ends with one portion! 🙂
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I can easily see how that could happen! I’d overindulge for only the fruit, you understand! ;->
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I agree, the fruit is the best part!
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This looks fantastic and I love the purple apricots, although baking it without the additions and slicing it as a breakfast bread and/or toasting really appeals to me. Thanks for posting:)
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Thank you Jessica! It is a very versatile recipe – I hope the toasted breakfast bread will work for you. 🙂
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Looks great 🙂
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Than you! 🙂
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I love anything with bananas in it and I happen to have a freezer full of brown ones ready for baking right now. Going to have to give this a try! Think I’ll try it sans additions first and have it for breakfast. Yum!
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Glad to hear!
Thawed bananas will probably produce a bit different texture, as the freezing changes their texture, but I’m sure it will still be very tasty.
I’ll be happy to hear your feedback! 🙂
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No one would believe that you didn’t spend all day on it. Gorgeous presentation. Glyn
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Thank you Glyn! 🙂
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Never tasted purple apricot.. Cake looks delicious
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Thank you Vidya!
I was happy to find out that the purple apricots were delicious, which is not always the case with apricots in the US…
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What a wonderful idea! Can’t wait to try this soon.
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Thank you!
I’m glad you liked the idea. Will be happy to hear your thoughts once you’ve tried it. 🙂
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Oh wow! This looks amazing. Looking forward to the coming arrival of apricot season. Yum.
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Thank you Dale! I’m glad you liked the idea. I hope you’ll enjoy the results. Will be happy to get your feedback. 🙂
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Love this recipe, Ronit! Banana cake sounds so moist and subtly sweet.
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Thank you Lisa!
I was experimenting with it and was a bit skeptical about how it will turn out, but the result was worth sharing. 🙂
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thanks for the recipe! I will make this cake for my children!
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My pleasure, Simi. I hope your children will enjoy the cake. 🙂
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I don’t believe I’ve ever seen purple apricots before, Ronit. Do they taste the same as regular apricots? I imagine paired with the banana cake is delicious! So nice that the cake is lower in fat as well!
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You’re right, Nancy – the combination of banana and apricots was very delicious!
I first had purple apricots while in Israel, where the agriculture is all about new hybrids. I loved them and was very glad to find them at the store here. In my onion they are tastier and sweeter than the regular local apricots. It is a shame their season is fairly short… 😦
As I said, other fruits would work out just as well for the cake, but if you do see purple apricots at the store, I definitely recommend trying them. 🙂
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Looks great and also very pretty.
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Thank you Elmarie. So nice to hear! 🙂
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This looks wonderful! I have never heard of purple apricots but my plum tree will have plums in a few months and I am definitely going to try them on this. Thanks ~ Tilly
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Thank you Tilly! 🙂
Plums are on my list to try with this cake as well. I’m sure they would work out great.
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The cake looks delicious. Apricots are one of my favorite spring fruits.
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Thank you Sheryl 🙂
I’m also a fan of apricots and try to use them as much as I can, as their season is still quite short…
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What a lovely looking cake! I love the addition of the purple apricots! 🙂
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Thank you Yana. 🙂 I was glad to find the purple apricots. They are delicious and beautiful.
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Great, very motimated to try out tis recipe. Thanks dear!
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My pleasure, Saritha! I hope you’ll enjoy the results. 🙂
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