This delectable banana cake is a Definite keeper!! My family’s not “big” on banana-anything & there were some complaining groans when they learned what I was mixing up but I figured I’d give it a shot, since I was in the mood for something light & sort-of sweet &….I don’t know, different, I guess!! Found this, read the outstanding reviews & got right to work! Of course, the first thing I did is cut back on the sugar & fat…just a bit tho. I only used 1 stick of butter [1/2 cup] along with 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce & 1/4 cup ground flax-seed. For the sugar, I substituted 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar, as one reviewer suggested which, along with 4 bananas, the applesauce & double the vanilla, made the cake plenty sweet enough. I don’t normally frost my cakes but since the sugar was cut down so much, I decided to give the icing a try & found it to be lovely & lightly sweet – although I did halve the recipe & had more than sufficient frosting. Baking at 275° was a new scenario – the cake needed to bake a little while longer…more like 1:25. The freezer trick was an interesting step as well that seemed to seal in the moistness without leaving the cake heavy at all. To finish off after frosting, I dressed the cake up with a topping of crushed walnuts & mini-chocolate chips. It looked beautiful, tasted divine & just over two hours after being cut, is now very nearly Gone!!! My crew is won over - Way more than 5 stars, Cindy! Thank you!!

Reviewed On: Nov. 20, 2009

This zucchini bread has a great “fudginess” to it that’s really a pleasant change from the usual zucchini bread recipe. The modifications that I did to the recipe to lower the sugar & fat were; brought the sugar down to 1 1/3 cups along w/adding 2/3 cups natural applesauce which both sweetened the recipe & cut down on the fat needed! I also lowered the oil content to 1/2 cup & added 1/4 cup ground flaxseed. Instead of the chocolate squares, I used 6 Tablespoons of cocoa & threw in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. The bread came out so moist & delicious, there was no reason to add any glaze. The jury's still out on the almond slices...they were just “okay” but on the whole this was a fantastic recipe & I’m sure we'll make it many times in the future.

Reviewed On: Sep. 15, 2009

Holy Smokes...this recipe Terrified me! Pouring boiling water over perfectly beautiful peaches & batter was quite an experience - if not for rave member reviews, I Never would've attempted it. Everyone was totally correct, tho...it was aMazing! My changes [because, of course, there were many!] to lower the sugar/fat considerably were; 6 peaches instead of 3 [which upped the flavor quotient!], 2/3 cup sugar is all that was needed to perk up the peaches along with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. For the batter, half stick of unsalted butter & 1/4 cup ground flaxseed was just enough fat & really lightened it up with 2/3 cup of sugar giving it just the right touch of sweetness. I added the peach juice to the boiling water to make 1 cup along with 1 teaspoon of vanilla & just 2 Tablespoons of butter, then held my breath & poured!!! Baked for an hour, left to gel for another half hour, the smell is Divine - this cobbler is truly to Die For!! With homemade whipped cream or frozen vanilla yogurt on top...O.M.G.!!! Kudos to Jan for the original – hope you enjoy the modifications.

Reviewed On: Sep. 14, 2009