FOOD FRIDAY - BANANA FRUIT CAKE

“Life is full of banana skins. You slip, you carry on.” - Daphne Guinness

A couple of days ago we bought some very nice bananas for 99 cents a kilogram, which is certainly very cheap. They were aromatic, wonderfully smooth and luscious bananas that ripened beautifully. And as one tends to buy a lot at that price, it was time to make a banana fruit cake! This is a spicy, fruity, moist and yielding cake that makes for delicious eating!

BANANA FRUIT CAKE
Ingredients - For the cake
1 heaped cup sugar
1/2 cup of butter (80 g)
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup of milk
1 teaspoonful of baking soda (dissolved in milk)
1 and 1/2 cups of mixed, chopped, dried fruit (sultanas, glacé cherries, apricots, figs, etc)
1 egg, separated
2 cups of self raising flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoonfuls of ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves.
For the icing
Icing sugar (two to three cups)
Lemon juice and zest

Method
Cream the butter and sugar until soft and light.  Add the beaten egg, the mashed bananas and while beating, add alternately a little of the milk, and flour until a smooth mixture is obtained.  Add the spices and finally the mixed chopped fruit.
Pour into a greased tin (a bundt tin works well) and bake in a moderate oven for about one hour (cake should be golden brown and test for doneness with a skewer).
Blend enough lemon juice with the icing sugar and lemon zest to form a smooth paste in a warm bowl.  Spread over the warm cake and if desired, dust with ground cinnamon.

This post is part of the Food Friday meme,

and also part of the Food Trip Friday meme.