No-waste recipes – don’t throw out overripe bananas!
My bananas are highly unlikely to fruit, but these recipes for banana cakes have saved me so much money; they’re a must for a frugal cook. No one will eat a ripe banana in our house, but they will eat these cakes. The main recipe is from the 1979 1,000 Freezer Recipes book by Carole Handslip and Jeni Wright.
For cakes or other recipes made with home-grown fruit, visit Fruity Cakes; Plum and Apple Gluts; Apricot Gluts; Apricot Compote and Freezer Jam. For a change, try Salted Caramel Hot Cross Buns.
Banana cakes – Banana raisin loaf (original)
- 75g/3oz butter
- 100g/4oz caster sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 200g/7oz SR flour
- quarter teaspoon salt
- quarter teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 100g/4oz seedless raisins*
- 2 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
- 50g/2oz walnuts, chopped (optional)*
Grease a 450g/1lb loaf tin and line it with baking parchment. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in egg a little at a time. Sieve together flour, salt, and bicarb and fold into the creamed mixture until evenly blended. Stir in raisins, bananas, and walnuts (if using).
Spoon into the prepared tin, and bake for 50 mins-1 hour in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. **
Transfer to a wire rack, remove the paper and leave to cool. To freeze, when cool, wrap in foil, put in a freezer bag, seal, label, and freeze. Thaw in wrappings at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
*I’ve never used raisins or nuts because my kids didn’t like them. It works fine without them. Don’t worry about the mixture being very stiff – the moisture comes from the ripe bananas.
**If you have a fan-heated oven, cover the top of the cake with a sheet of baking parchment at about 40 minutes to stop the top from getting overdone. And don’t worry if it takes longer to cook through.
Variation 1: Double coconut and banana cake
- 75g/3oz butter or margarine (or a mixture)
- 100g/4oz golden caster sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 200g/7oz SR flour
- quarter teaspoon salt
- quarter teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 100g/4oz crystallised ginger, chopped*
- 2 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
- 50g/2oz desiccated coconut
Grease a 20cm/8-inch round loose-bottomed cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in egg a little at a time (it makes life easier and you can make more than one cake faster with a mixer). Sieve together flour, salt, and bicarb and fold into the creamed mixture until evenly blended. Stir in both types of coconut and bananas.
Spoon into the prepared tin, and bake for 50 mins-1 hour in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack, remove the paper and leave to cool. To freeze, when cool, wrap in foil, put in a freezer bag, seal, label, and freeze. Thaw in wrappings at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
*I use desiccated coconut in all these variations – it gives a good, moist texture. The shredded coconut makes this cake more crumbly than the others.
Banana cakes – Variation 2: Apricot and banana cake
- 75g/3oz butter or margarine (or a mixture)
- 100g/4oz golden caster sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 200g/7oz SR flour
- quarter teaspoon salt
- quarter teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 100g/4oz dried apricots, chopped
- 2 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
- 50g/2oz desiccated coconut
Grease a 20cm/8-inch round loose-bottomed cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in egg a little at a time (it makes life easier and you can make more than one cake faster with a mixer). Sieve together flour, salt, and bicarb and fold into the creamed mixture until evenly blended. Stir in the chopped apricots and bananas.
Spoon into the prepared tin, and bake for 50 mins-1 hour in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack, remove the paper and leave to cool. To freeze, when cool, wrap in foil, put in a freezer bag, seal, label, and freeze. Thaw in wrappings at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
Variation 3: Banana and ginger cake
- 75g/3oz butter or margarine (or a mixture)
- 100g/4oz golden caster sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 200g/7oz SR flour
- quarter teaspoon salt
- quarter teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 100g/4oz crystallised ginger, chopped*
- 2 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
- 50g/2oz desiccated coconut
Grease a 20cm/8-inch round loose-bottomed cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in egg a little at a time (it makes life easier and you can make more than one cake faster with a mixer). Sieve together flour, salt, and bicarb and fold into the creamed mixture until evenly blended. Stir in the ginger and bananas.
Spoon into the prepared tin, and bake for 50 mins-1 hour in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack, remove the paper and leave to cool. To freeze, when cool, wrap in foil, put in a freezer bag, seal, label, and freeze. Thaw in wrappings at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
*Crystallised ginger is strong, so cut down the quantity if you don’t like such a pronounced flavour. It also makes a moister cake.
Banana cakes – Other ideas – see what’s in your store cupboard
- I’ve replaced an ounce of the coconut with a posh chocolate orange drink (the type that is in shavings, not powder).
- Use 4oz/100g chopped cooking apple instead of the walnuts – this gives a very moist pudding, which goes well with custard.
- Add a teaspoon of cinnamon/nutmeg mix to give a tropical-style spice cake.
- Add a couple of drops of vanilla essence.
Read more horticultural and food book reviews you might like – The Thoughtful Gardener and Good Soil; Urban Flowers; The Salad Garden; The Jam Maker’s Garden; RHS The Creative Gardener and Charles Dowding’s No-Dig volume.
