My local supermarket often has produce marked way down when it reaches the point of no return. In my house, we call this “used fruit.” When

it comes to bananas, this status indicates that they are bruised and have copious brown spots on the skin, but the fruit is just fine inside. This means that buying six bananas costs me only 89 cents.

 Next Tuesday is my daughter’s 18th birthday. She loves cake and I love being frugal. With the money I’ve saved buying bruised bargain bananas I can easily purchase the nuts to make this cake, one of her favorites, for her birthday. This cake is indulgent and very moist even without frosting, but with it, so much the better.

And oh yes, I love my daughter very much.

For the Cake

½ cup butter
2 cups Splenda®*
4 eggs
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 cup nonfat sour cream or plain nonfat yogurt
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 ripe bananas
½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup slivered almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a tube or Bundt pan by greasing and flouring.

Cream butter and Splenda® in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the eggs and mix well. Stir in the vanilla and add the bananas, mashing them until the mixture is uniform.

In another bowl, mix together the flour and baking soda. Add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream. Fold in the nuts. Place in tube pan.

Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about five minutes, then release onto a rack. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Sugar-free Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting 

¼ cup butter†
½ cup Splenda® *
1 8-ounce container Cream Cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat softened butter with Splenda® until it is just incorporated. Add cream cheese one tablespoon at a time. Beat until lump-free. Scrape sides of the bowl and add vanilla, beating well.

†This makes a killer vegan frosting if you substitute vegan spread (Earth Balance works well) and a soy cream cheese replacer like Tofutti.

If you thought this recipe looked yummy,
please“rate” it and make it.

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