I rarely make sweet recipes. It’s not that I can’t do it, but I find it messy and too much cleaning up afterwards. Lately though, I’ve come up with some easier ways to reduce the mess. I’m sure these aren’t new methods at all, but they certainly are new to me!

Some of these include:

• Placing all the ingredients in a large pouring jug to mix
• Line the baking pan with baking paper to allow no messy leftovers in the tin. This also doubles up in reducing the calories by not placing oil to allow no sticking to the pan.

This recipe includes an old banana that I’ve left sitting around and also some prunes. Now, I know the thought of prunes to many is unappealing and scary, but these really are a delicious dried fruit! Prunes are actually dried plums and can be used in both sweet or savoury meals. They’re great for their fibre content and just four a day will help keep you regualar! In this recipe, the prunes allow the cake to have a mild juicy and savoury consistency between the banana and added sugar.

I’d recommend using a smaller loaf pan for this. I used a very wide pan and it made for a small height-wise cake!

Ingredients:

• 1-1.5 cups flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 banana, mashed
• 6 prunes, remove the seeds and diced
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 cup milk

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. Add the banana and mash in the jug with the brown sugar.
3. Add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly.
4. Pour mixture in lined tray and cook for 45 minutes or until golden brown.