Over-ripe Bananas Cut the Fat!

Here's a helpful low-fat baking tip from Home Cook'n reader, Joy. She writes:

When my bananas get too ripe to eat (I like them firm), I peel them and freeze them in a large ziploc freezer bag. Then when I want to bake a cake I substitute the banana for oil, butter or margarine. I use about the equivalent amount or slightly more (if the recipe calls for a stick of butter I use a hunk of banana about as long as a stick of butter). They thaw quickly in the microwave and mash easily with an electric mixer.

Bananas do continue to ripen in the freezer, VERY slowly. A darker banana is sweeter and you can often reduce the amount of sugar in a recipe a little to compensate if trying to reduce sugar calories. Cakes made with banana have always turned out wonderfully for me, but they do not keep for as many days so if they're around more than 2 days, you may want to refrigerate. In place of icing I may sprinkle on a little powder sugar or just drizzle a small amount of icing on the cake , but cakes made with banana are sweet and rich and don't require icing for my taste. Frozen bananas also work great in milk shakes, just mix with other ingredients in a blender.

* DVO welcomes your kitchen hints and cooking or nutrition questions! Email us and we'll post your hints and Q/A's in upcoming newsletters! *