“I’m a great lover of bananas, especially when they’re very ripe and speckled,” says Gloria. She turns them into breads and cakes. This dessert evolved as she started to add ingredients like spices and vanilla. Walnuts are traditionally used with bananas in recipes, but when Gloria discovered she had none, she did what all good cooks do: She substituted what she had on hand, and a star was born.
1 cup white whole wheat flour*
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed bananas (2 to 3 bananas)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 Heat oven to 350˚F. Spray 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Whisk white whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl.
2 Beat bananas, brown sugar and oil in large bowl at medium speed 2 minutes or until combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating just until blended. At low speed, beat in flour mixture in 3 parts alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in pecans. Pour into pan.
3 Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
12 servings
PER SERVING: 265 calories, 10.5 g total fat (1 g saturated fat), 4.5 g protein, 39.5 g carbohydrate, 35 mg cholesterol, 160 mg sodium, 2.5 g fiber
TIP *White whole wheat flour is made from a new strain of wheat; using it produces lighter-tasting baked goods that are lighter in color than those baked with regular whole wheat flour. It has the same nutritional profile as regular whole wheat flour. It can be substituted for all-purpose flour in most recipes.