first you need the rotten bananas… then you get the cake

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So what do we need to make a smoothie?

Rotten bananas… milk… honey… vanilla,  and some yogurt.

A little chuckle might have escaped from me at the first ingredient mentioned. I would have said it a tad more delicately, but hey, the kid was right. Rotten bananas make great smoothies.

I’m trying to teach The Monkeys that not everything needs to look their pristine best before using, and can be turned into other things. Those blackened bananas were just the obvious ones. Now what else could you do with those old apples, stale bread, drying rice?

Monkey Boy does get it, and the way his answers roll off his tongue so effortlessly makes me proud. Hopefully he won’t be one of those kids from my childhood saying “EEEEWWWW, look at your manky banana!” Instead, he’ll say “oh look, your bananas looking a little past it, why don’t you take it home and make it in to an enjoyable  smoothie or a cake”. He’ll say this just after he’s got his final exam results of straight A’s, and then probably ride off into the sunset on his white horse.

Or at the very least he might say, hey you’ve got a rotten banana, let’s go make a cake.

Either way I’d be happy.

Banana Cake

150g softened butter

150g raw sugar/brown sugar

350g  mashed banana (or 3 rotten ones)

2 tsp vanilla

2 beaten eggs

2 heaped spoonfuls golden syrup

2 cups self raising flour

*****

Whack it all in a mixing bowl. Mix it up. Grease and line a springform tin, then bake it at 180C  for approximately 45- 60 minutes.

26 thoughts on “first you need the rotten bananas… then you get the cake”

  2. What a wonderful mother you are,Brydie! Even your fantasies about your children’s future has them comforting others for their nasty fruit, success in education and an active lifestyle of an equestrian!
    Your cake looks good even if I don’t like bananas!

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  4. I always have a stash of rotten bananas in the freezer, perfect for such yummy cakes.
    Produce certainly doesn’t need to look perfect to taste perfect. I buy seconds at the markets, apples $1 a kg, mushrooms half price, strawberries $4kg, no bruises just funny shapes or too small or large. Love a bargin!

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  5. I love your view of life Brydie – it helps me to remember the simple things are what matter, to count my blessings and be happy. Please don’t ever change xx

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  6. It’s great that you find uses for all these things that others might just throw out. I read recently that the average Australian family throws out around $700 of food a year. That’s quite sobering. From rotten bananas you’ve made a very wonderful looking banana cake xx

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  7. I still shudder at rotten bananas (and find them too strong-tasting for smoothies) – but I am even fussy about the good ones – though I have never been fussy about banana cake.

    Love your sunflower plate!

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  10. I love when you can salvage almost gone food into something new and delicious. It always makes me happy. So good that you’re sharing that lesson with your kids!

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  11. Bee-yooo-tiful! I happen to have four manky bananas sitting on the bench, getting decidedly rotten! A cake kept calling, you are giving me the kick up the behind I need. Thankyou 🙂 (Just to figure out what to do with the fourth!)

    I think it may even fit into the small mixing bowl I have because alas, the large one shattered *sob*.

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  12. Couldn’t agree more with your philosophy – and I’ll surely add your cake to my short list. Just in case you may want to try one a little fancier -and magnificent- give this one a try: http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/recipes/r-penzeysGramsBananaCake.html

    Only problem with the above recipe is it has way too much sugar for me – but I cut the sugar to 1 cup and added 1/2 cup of Splenda – texture was more dense than the original, but it still was magnificent!

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    • Holy bananas Doc, that does have a lot of sugar in it.
      My 150g sounds decidedly modest in comparison.
      As for your version, I do like a denser cake. I haven’t used splenda before, but a denser one beats airy and fluffy every time I say.

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      • It was perfect, beautifully moist and tasty. It cooked quicker in my oven – about 40mins but so so good. It’s made the cut so next weekend i will be baking 2 of them and attempting to fashion them into a cat shape! Wish me luck, i’ll link back to show you the finished product. Isn’t it funny sometimes how things work out. Thanks again.

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  15. I love your philosophy too and I agree with Heidi – you are a good mum. And I say that because it takes one to know one – hehe. But seriously, they’re important lessons and I wish more parents would be like you. Only today my Mitch was saying how disgusted he was with people throwing out good food and even scraps into the bin. The conversation came about when I treated him to some fish and chips and he couldn’t finish the chips. So up he goes to the shopkeeper, asks for a paper bag, puts in the chips and gave them to his chickens when we got home. He’s my pride and joy (don’t tell the girls), has just finished his final exams scoring high distinctions in all his remaining subjects. Next week he graduates and then he will ride off into the sunset presumably on his old postie bike and I will be one very lost mother!!

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  19. dear bydie, i wish you all well!
    yesterday in the heart of our hellenic summer (40 degrees C) i prepared your yummy cake, that had a fantastic fragrant smell; later on the beach we enjoyed every bit of it! i think next time of enriching it with nuts/almonds/choc drops, or it ‘d be too much? happy greetings! gina 🙂

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