Low Fat Banana and Walnut Cake

It's quite unusual for me to blog about a sweet food because to be honest I am all about the savoury, but the over-indulgences from Christmas have left me with a sweet craving that I cannot seem to satisfy. A sizeable amount of my weekly food bill goes on purchasing low fat sweet treats so it's time I extended my love for home cooking and got better at baking sweets & puds in an Eat Healthy But Tasty way.

There has been alot of noise about the new breed of low calorie sweeteners made using extracts from the Stevia plant. Brands such as Pure Via and Truvia have engaged in some heavy TV advertising. I was very excited to learn about these products as they are different from traditional sweeteners that use artificial means. They are calorie free and sugar free so also suitable for diabetics, plus are granulated so much better for baking. Good un's all round then?  Well I purchased Truvia (not cheap by the way, a 180g tub sets you back a fiver!) and upon first taste in my coffee I was not impressed. The saccharin taste lingered for ages and I decided I preferred Splenda.

However I decided to give Truvia another go, taking note that 1/3 of a tsp is equal to 1sp of sugar so basically it needs to be used sparingly. I significantly reduced the quantity based on my original inspiration for this recipe that I found on this fab website called All Recipes.  I was very pleased with the outcome and will continue to use Truvia in my quest to Eat Sweet Treats Healthy But Tasty!

I am also including this blog post in Turquoiselemons.com #nowaste food challenge run by the lovely Kate. Since I had some really over-ripe bananas to use up (I'm talking full on black ones!) this recipe perfectly fits this challenge for this month.

Equipment needed: 1 loaf tin, 2 mixing bowls, spatula, wire rack

Ingredients:

• 200g plain flour
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tbsp apple sauce
• 45 Truvia or calorie free sweetner
• 75g walnut pieces, roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 mixed spice

Method:

• Lighly grease the loaf tin
• Pre-heat the oven to 180c / 170c fan / gas mark 4
• In a large mixing bowl sieve the flour, baking powder, bicarb, cinnamon and mixed spice
• Stir in the walnuts and sweetner
• In the other mixing bowl, mash the bananas and then stir in the apple sauce
• Add the fruit to the dry ingredients
• In the empty bowl crack the eggs and lightly whisk with a fork
• Using a spatula, fold the eggs and fruit into the dry mix ensuring everything is mixed well but trying not to over-mix
• Tip the mixture into the loaf tin and cover with foil
• Bake in the oven for 50 -55 minutes
• Uncover the foil for the last 15-20 minutes to brown on top
• Test the cake is cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre to see if it comes out clean
• Cool for a good 20 minutes in the tin and then transfer to a wire rack to cool
• Slice into 12 pieces

Enjoy with a nice cuppa!

WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Slice: 3