Converting processed sugar to natural sugar: banana coconut cake

I made this cake again on TV this week and it always proves to be a great success, not only in the taste and texture but also in the response from the audience.

In a Mediterranean Diet we go back to old traditions to the days when processed food was not around.  I have been testing a line of new recipes for the last 5 years and here is one of my favorite ones.

For the banana and coconut, nearly-all-in-one cake with no butter and no sugar you wil need:

3 cups self raising flour
2 cups dessicated coconut
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
a few drops good vanilla extract
1 cup ricotta
4 eggs, separated, egg whites beaten until they stand in peaks (optional, you can also add the eggs as they are)
4 bananas
juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon cornflour (optional but adds firmness to the cake texture)

and instead of the processed sugar:
1 1/2 cups golden raisins  soaked in just enough water to cover for a few hours or overnight.  Then simply use a hand blender to process to a pulp.

Method:
in a large bowl sieve the flour and cornflour.  Add the bicarbonate of soda and coconut.  Mix.
In another bowl use a hand blender to process the bananas, lemon juice, egg yolks, vanilla, ricotta.
Add the flour mixture a little at a time and mix in using a metal spoon.
add the beaten egg whites.  Mix in gently.
Immediately pour the cake mix into a prepared cake tin and bake in a preheated oven at 170c for 35/40 minutes.

11 thoughts on “Converting processed sugar to natural sugar: banana coconut cake”

  3. Joyce James

    I want to make this interesting cake but have a few questions: (1) How much is one spoon of cornflour. Is it a teaspoon, dessert spoon or table spoon? (2) What size tin do I use? What size eggs? (3) When soaking the raisins, do I throw the water away before blending? Thanks

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