Don’t throw away your banana peels, they are the secret ingredient in this cake. 

Words: Love Food Hate Waste

INGREDIENTS

6 banana peels (brown ones are fine)
1/2 cup water
4 eggs, separated
2 ½ cups white sugar
3 cups plain flour
75g butter
2 tablespoons baking powder

METHOD

Preheat oven to 190°C. Grease a 20cm cake tin

Put the banana peels and half a cup of water into a blender or food processor. Blend them until they turn into a smooth, dark brown, aromatic mush. Set aside.

Beat the butter, yolks, and sugar in a mixing bowl until it is all combined —it should have the consistency of fluffy scrambled eggs. Add the banana peels, the flour, and the baking powder, and mix well.

Whisk the egg whites until frothy, and gently fold into the mixture, careful to preserve the air. Pour into a cake pan. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the cake passes the toothpick test.

COOKING TIPS

– Bananas can be frozen and then used in this recipe later on
– The banana peels do not have to be yellow, the peels of browning bananas can also be use
– If you eat a banana, leave the skin in a bowl of water, to use when making this dish on the same day, or else just freeze the skin to use later on, when making this dish
– This cake is delicious with cream cheese or chocolate icing

This recipe is courtesy of Love Food Hate Waste. Every year Kiwis send 122,547 tonnes of food to landfill, all of which could have been eaten.  Love Food Hate Waste has tips and recipes to help you reduce your food waste and save money.