Banana Bundt Cake

I am constantly looking for new recipes that use bananas, as I usually have several ripe ones sitting on my counter begging to be used. I know ripe bananas can be frozen and used later, but it seems like I always have a lot of them and I hate to throw them out. So this week I tried this low-fat breakfast cake from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. I stumbled upon this great cookbook on the sale rack of the tea room for only $6! What a fun find! It really has a lot of healthful, vegetarian dishes that look delicious.

This snack cake is lightly flavored with nutmeg and cardamom and is only slightly sweet. At first I found it a bit on the bland side, but after eating several pieces, I really enjoyed it. It is very nice for breakfast, to have a slice with coffee on the way to work. I appreciate that it isn't very sugary and the spices give it a nice subtle flavor that is different than my typically cinnamon-spiced banana breads. I like the sturdy but smooth texture of the cake. If you're wanting something sweeter, the cookbook recommends a mocha glaze which sounds wonderful. Continue for Banana Bundt Cake recipe.

Banana Bundt Cake
Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

Makes one 10-inch Bundt cake

2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour, preferably pastry flour**
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t cardamom
3/4 cup brown sugar (if you want it sweeter, use up to 1 cup)
2 egg yolks
1 cup lightly mashed bananas (3)
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil
1 t vanilla (I would use 1 1/2)
4 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a 10-inch Bundt pan with cooking spray.
Sift the flour with the baking powder, slat, and spices. Add the sugar, mix well, and set aside.
Combine the yolks, bananas, applesauce, oil, and vanilla and mix well, Add the mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until evenly blended.
Beat the whites until stiff but not dry. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter and pour into pan.
Bake for 60 minutes, until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Cool on a rack for 10 min. Invert onto a plate.

If you want a sweeter cake, try glazing with Moosewood's Mocha Glaze:
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate
6 T brewed strong coffee
2 T cocoa
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Combine chocolate and coffee in a saucepan and heat until melted. Combine a small amount of the melted chocolate with the cocoa to make a paste. Stir the paste into the remaining chocolate. Beat in the sugar and drizzle over cake.


** I make my own: 4 c all-purpose + 2 1/4 cup cake flours = 6 1/4 cup pastry flour)--good for low-fat baking.

Serves 16
140 calories, 5.8g fat per serving