The usual with about to rot bananas is making a banana bread or banana muffins and then pair with nuts or fruit or chocolate chips. I was wanting to try out something really different, so while searching and scouting through recipe books and notes, there I find on page 60, from my handed down recipe books called Cake and Cake Decorating by Jill Spencer “The Banana Date Fingers”. There fingers are utterly delicious things, like melt in the mouth little goodies. These are perfect to be sent over to friends or as a gift too (hinting at an idea there….). Bake these delectables and give them a go and let me know how it turned out for you.
INGREDIENTS:
- Butter – 100grams
- Castor Sugar – 50 grams
- Egg yolk – 1
- Self-Rising Flour – 100 grams
- Ground Almonds – 100 grams
For the filling
- Bananas – 4
- Dates, stoned and halved – 225 grams
- Blanched Almonds – 50 grams
- Brown Sugar – 3 tablespoons
- Plain Flour – 25 grams
- Ground Almonds – 50 grams
- Icing Sugar
To make the base:
Cream the butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk then stir in the flour and ground almonds to form a very soft dough. Press into the base of a greased 18cm x 28 cm swiss roll tin or a flat tin sheer and prick it all over with a fork. Bake blind in a moderately hot oven for 30-40 minutes and cool slightly.
To make the filling:
Slice the banana and sprinkle with lemon juice, mixing well. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir well and arrange evenly over the base.
To make the topping:
Whisk the egg with the sugar until thick and creamy. Sieve the flour over the egg mixture and fold in carefully with the ground almonds. Spread this mixture thinly and evenly over the bananas and dates. Bake in a moderately hot oven for 40 minutes until golden in color. Cool in the tin and cut into fingers when cold. Sieve icing sugar over the tops before serving.
A Life Of Joy 