Hi Dear Folk,

I ran across this recipe and thought that I would try it out.  I had most of the ingredients in the house except prunes and I substituted dates which were in the pantry.  I often do that don't you?  Just try and make a recipe work with what I have in the cupboard, plus I did not want to venture out.  I will have Mr. B. put prunes on his shopping list, I think I know how I could make it a bit better next time.

It is a very dense mixture, no sugar and no oil.  My banana maybe could have been a little riper.

I was pleased with the results, mine came out almost like a very fruity bread pudding.  Will try making it with the prunes next time and see how it turns out.  The recipe is below.

Hairy Bikers' low fat fruit tea loaf

• Preparation time:15 minutes, plus cooling
• Cooking time:30 minutes
• Total time:45 minutes, plus cooling

Makes: 20 squares

Ingredients

1 teabag
400ml just-boiled water
1 unwaxed lemon
250g ready-to-eat prunes, quartered
500g luxury dried mixed fruit
3 tsp ground mixed spice
1 ripe medium banana (about 115g peeled weight)
4 large eggs
4 tbsp skimmed milk
300g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder

Method

Put the teabag in a jug and add 400ml just-boiled water. Stir and leave to steep for 5 minutes. Finely grate the lemon zest and squeeze the juice, then pour the juice into a large saucepan. Squeeze the teabag and chuck it away, then pour the tea into the pan with the juice. Add the lemon zest, prunes, mixed dried fruit and spice.

Stir well and place the pan over a low heat. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook gently for 5 minutes or until the liquid is almost all absorbed, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, tip the mixture carefully into a large mixing bowl and leave to cool for 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 170°C/Fan 150°C/Gas 3½. Line the base and sides of a 20 x 30cm rectangular cake tin with baking parchment or use a small roasting tin or a 25cm square cake tin. Peel the banana and cut it into thick slices. Put these in a food processor, add the eggs and milk, then blend to make a purée. Add the flour and baking powder and blend again until smooth.

Pour the egg and banana mixture on to the soaked fruit and stir until thoroughly combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes or until the cake is pale golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the tin for 30 minutes.

Carefully turn the cake out, peel off the baking parchment and leave to cool on a wire rack. When the cake is cool, cut it into 20 squares. Wrap well, store in the fridge and eat within a week.