I was visiting a friend for afternoon tea this particular day and she has tried to eliminate sugar from her children’s diets which I reckon is an absolute miracle in itself. She’s had some wonderful success with changing her children’s behaviour just through this alone. You could of course add sugar if you wanted to but this is where I substituted the sugar with pureed fruit. It certainly wasn’t as sweet as a traditional cake but it still tasted nice.

This recipe produced two loaves which was great. One for afternoon tea and the other taken to my sister’s place for morning tea. She always has fantastic light at her house for photos and beautiful things put out. The joys of no children.

I’ll be keeping this recipe as a regular. I reckon it’d make a nice muffin too. Handy for lunch boxes and popping in the freezer. Can be iced or each slice buttered.

Sugar Free Loaf using Fruit & Vegetables
(based on Shugary Sweets “Pineapple, Carrot, Zucchini Bread”)

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup mashed banana (approx 2 medium bananas) (replaces 3/4 cup brown sugar) *
• 1/2 cup pureed fruit (eg apple, pear, pineapple) (replaces 3/4 cup sugar) *
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• zest of 1 orange
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups plain flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Variations & Additions:

• 1 cup pureed vegetables (eg sweet potato, pumpkin)
• 1 cup crushed pineapple
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1 cup nuts, roughly chopped

1. Add melted butter to mashed banana and pureed fruit. *(Or alternatively use sugar quantities as above.)
2. Add vanilla, orange zest and eggs and mix well.
3. Add any combination of extra fruit, vegetables and/or nuts.
4. Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and powder and salt and mix through.
5. Pour into two lined loaf pans and bake at 160 deg C for approximately 40 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. (Can be made into muffins.)