This week my Great-Aunt Shirley went to be with the Lord. She was remarkably witty and kind, and very much a part of my childhood. She was also a diabetic, although I never heard her complain. She and my grandmother were diligent in controlling the disease as much as possible with their diet. In her memory, I wanted to share one of her recipes. I think this is my first purposefully published sugar-free recipe; which seems befitting. And I’ll tell you what I love about it (besides that it came from my great-aunt), is that she didn’t try and substitute the sugar with something artificial. The bananas are the only sweetness, and the walnuts actually shine. I think it would be great served warm with a small pat of butter in the morning with your coffee. Or, depending on your GI intake, I might drizzle a small amount of honey (maybe a tablespoon or so for the whole cake – 9 servings) over the top while it is warm and can soak it up to represent more of a dessert to which we are accustomed. Enjoy.
As organic as possible:
2/3 cup mashed Bananas (approx 2)
1/2 cup Butter or Margarine, softened
3 Eggs
2 cups all-purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
3/4 cup Water
1 cup Walnuts
In a mixing bowl, beat bananas and butter until creamy.
Add eggs and beat well.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon; add to banana mixture alternately wit water, beating well after each addition.
Stir in nuts.
Spoon into a greased 9 inch square baking pan.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool. Yield: 9 servings.
Because I just have to, here is a picture of my grandma (top left) with her brother and sisters, Aunt Shirley is top center.
And this is Aunt Shirley as I will always remember her.