Banana Strawberry Yogurt Bundt Cake

This is another strawberry recipe from my “archives” in honor of Strawberry Month. If you’ve recently been strawberry picking (see my post about Shady Brook Farm HERE), and found that you have more strawberries than your family cares to eat plain, this is a great recipe to use some of the extra.

This tasty banana strawberry bundt cake is wonderful for a special breakfast or a health-conscious dessert. Years ago, I was on a kick where I was constantly experimenting with recipes using oat flour and yogurt as healthy substitutes. This is one of those recipes, and I was really happy with the results. Simple substitutions like using a combination of flour and ground oats and mashed bananas and yogurt instead of butter help reduce the fat and calories while adding plenty of nutritional value.

Instead of just relying on granulated sugar for sweetness, this cake draws on several different sources. Strawberries and banana add a lot of flavor and natural sugars. In addition, strawberry fruit spread is used to add even more strawberry flavor and sweetness.

Ingredients:

• 2 over-ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup strawberry fruit spread (Smucker’s Natural Strawberry fruit spread used here.)
• 3 eggs
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus ¼ cup to coat strawberries
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats, ground to a flour-like consistency
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Greek nonfat yogurt
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, diced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease and flour a 10” bundt pan.
3. Combine the all-purpose flour, oat flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in a bowl and set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the bananas, sugar and strawberry fruit spread until combined.
5. Add eggs, beating after each egg.
6. Stir in the lemon juice.
7. Alternate adding the flour mixture and yogurt, mixing after each addition. Mix just until combined.
8. Toss diced strawberries in remaining ¼ cup of flour, to keep the strawberries from sinking to the bottom.
9. Gently stir in strawberries.
10. Pour batter into greased pan.
11. Place bundt pan in the preheated oven and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees.
12. Bake cake for 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
13. Remove pan from the oven and sit on a wire rack for 25 minutes to cool.
14. Turn pan over, allowing cake to gently fall out onto the wire rack.
15. Allow cake to cool completely before transferring to serving plate.

Tips:

Powdered sugar adds a pretty final touch and just a bit of extra sweetness.

Fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar can be mixed to create a sweet citrus glaze to pour over the cake.

Over-ripe bananas are best for baking because they are the sweetest. If your bananas start to turn soft or get brown spots, simply remove the peels and freeze in freezer-safe bags until you’re ready to bake.