Banana Bundt Cake

I cleaned out our kitchen freezer the other day and found several frozen, shriveled bananas. You know, the dark overripe ones you toss in the freezer thinking you'll do something with them later? I decided it must be later.

I'd show you a picture of my frozen banana stash, but overripe bananas gross me out a little. I just have to remind myself of the tasty baked goods that come of them!

The Girl's dairy allergy always has me on the lookout for dairy-free cake recipes. I do a lot of substituting for milk and butter in other recipes, but one that's dairy-free from the beginning always has the best chance of success.

We love this Banana Bundt Cake. It's not only dairy-free, but fairly low fat. One slice has just 140 calories and a little under 6 grams of fat. Not too shabby for tasty cake. The mashed bananas and applesauce make up for the small amount of oil. It's dense enough to eat from your hand (great for picnics). If you want to dress it up, you can brush on a basic glaze.

Yum!

Recipe below.

BANANA BUNDT CAKE

• 2½ cups unbleached white flour, preferably pastry flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground cardamom (optional)
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 cup lightly mashed ripe bananas
• ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ⅓ cup canola or other vegetable oil
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Prepare a 10-inch Bundt pan with cooking spray or a light coating of oil.

Sift the flour with the baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cardamom, if using, into a large mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar, mix well, and set aside.

Combine the egg yolks, bananas, applesauce, oil, and vailla and mix well. Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until evenly blended.

Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter and pour it into the pan.

Bake for about 60 minutes, until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, and then invert onto a plate.

Makes one 10-inch Bundt cake. Serves 16.

From Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites: Flavorful Recipes for Healthful Meals

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