This banana & mincemeat loaf cake has no added fat, and is topped with a cinnamon & cranberry cream cheese frosting and is delicious alternative to the traditional Christmas cake
I was in France last weekend and completely missed Stir Up Sunday when people traditionally make their Christmas cakes and puddings. I do wonder how many people are organised enough to remember to make their cakes a month before Christmas, which brings the two-fold benefit that a matured cake or pudding simply tastes better, and getting any Christmas preparations out of the way before the start of December has to be a good thing.
This loaf cake is a twist on the classic banana bread, to which I added a dollop of mincemeat and a packet of Emily Banana Chips (more on them below) for that extra banana flavour. It is simply spread with a cinnamon and cranberry cream cheese frosted and decorated with some more banana chips and cranberries. Despite having no added fat this loaf is incredibly moist and soft. If truth be told the no added fat was an accident – Ed was remaking my original recipe to test it and forgot to add the melted butter – I think it is just as good as the original and with no butter in the cake you can add some extra frosting?
One of the things that I really love about loaf cakes is that they are all about the flavour, and not about the decoration, for more loaf cake inspiration you might like my sticky marmalade loaf cake or my Frozen Yogurt Cakes Two Ways!
Banana & mincemeat Loaf with cinnamon & cranberry cream cheese frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 Banana ((ripe))
- 50 g Mincemeat
- 1 Egg
- 75 g Sugar ((Golden Caster))
- 100 g Plain Flour
- 1 tsb Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 30 g Dried Banana Chips
For the Frosting
- 25 g Butter ((softened butter))
- 55 g Cream Cheese
- 120 g Icing Sugar
- 1 dsp Dried Cranberries
- Pinch Ground Cinamon
Instructions
Cake
- Heat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4.
- Lightly grease a loaf tin with butter or margarine and line with non-stick baking parchment
- Peel the banana and briefly mash with a fork. Don't worry about getting a smooth consistency - a few lumps add to the texture of the cake.
- Add the egg and mincemeat to the banana, and mix together.
- Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and banana chips and fold in gently.
- Spoon into the loaf tin and bake for about 40 minutes. To see if it's done, stick a cocktail stick or skewer into the middle of the cake. leave for 5 seconds and remove. If there's any batter on the skewer, cook for another 3 minutes. Repeat until the skewer comes out clean.
For the Frosting
- Beat the butter with an electric mixer until soft and fluffy, slowly add the icing sugar and a spoonful of the cream cheese. Mix until smooth.
- Gently stir in the remainder of the cream cheese, taking care not to over mix, stir in the cranberries and cinnamon.
- If needed put the frosting in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up a little.
- Spread onto the cake and decorate with a few extra banana chips and cranberries.
The banana chips I used from Emily Fruit Crisps are unlike any other, rather than being chewy dried fruit, they are genuine crisps, light, airy and oh-so-crunchy – as well as being packed with flavour. They are made with a specialised pressure cooking technique which inhibits the absorption of oil which means that the crisps are also really rather good for you (the apple and banana ones count as one of your 5 a day). The crisps really are something new and different and make a fantastic snack when the munchies strike in the middle of the afternoon, or to throw into my bag for a snack on a journey.
The fact they they have the most exquisite packaging is the icing on the cake with these crisps. Get them for £1.49 a bag from Waitrose, Ocado, Wholefoods, Selfridges and Holland & Barratt.
For more ideas using Emily Crisps why not try
- Sarah’s Posh Cheese & Pineapple Balls
- Katie’s Dark Chocolate, Banana & Date Fridge Cake
- Jac’s Vegan Gingerbread Cupcakes with Pineapple Frosting
Recipe for Mincemeat & Banana Loaf Cake commissioned by Emily Fruit Crisps. All opinions our own.
Sarah | Boo Roo and Tigger Too
Banana loaf is a favourite here, but never thought of adding mincemeat. I must give this a try
Helen
It jazzes it up for Christmas!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
What a great alternative way to use mincemeat, rather than in a mince pie. A nice twist on banana bread too!
Helen
Always good to have a way to use up that half jar in the fridge.
Tean Mitchell
Hi Helen
Delicious. Loved the recipe and so did my volunteers working in the woods (Sustainable Coppice Partnership. However, I found that after 45 mins the cake hadn’t even started to cook and was still just runny batter apart from a slight crust on top. So, it actually took around and hour and a half to cook through. It was none the worse for the slight hiatus of having opened the oven door to check so it was still a lovely recipe. So thanks but maybe need to adjust the baking time… or do you have any comment about why mine might have taken longer… I have a fan oven but quite an old one. Thanks
Helen
i am so sory about that – it looks like half the recipe instruction have vanished from the recipe widget for some reason – updating them!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche
I sometimes find dried banana a bit overly chewy, but I love that these are crispy. Must give them a try. The cake look fabulous, that cinnamon frosting sounds amazing!
Helen
These are amazing! They are proper crisps rather than dried fruit. Quite unlike anything else I’ve had before.
Katie Bryson
What a simply gorgeous idea to add mincemeat to a banana loaf cake… I’m absolutely going to try this out! I bet the banana crisps are a total winner in this cake too, as their flavour is so bold. This is the perfect bake for this time of year when you need to rustle up cakes all the time for guests and cake stalls!
Helen
So quick and easy. I am a convert to cream cheese frosting.
Shashi at RunninSrilankan
Helen, I gotta say, you sure do have some decadent loaf recipes! I love mincemeat – mincemeat pies are a fav of mine – but I’ve never enjoyed mincemeat in a loaf – loving the banana chips in it too – I’ve so gotta try this one! Thanks so much!
Helen
nice seasonal update to a classic cake.
Sarah
This looks absolutely amazing! That cream cheese frosting and the added banana chips for flavors surely make this a go-to recipe for the holidays!
Helen
It is a good one to make at short notice.
Bintu - Recipes From A Pantry
Nice addition to the loaf cake with banana chips, how lovely to have that bit of crunch.
Helen
it is not crunchy once baked, but oh so bananary.
Renz
What an intriguing combination. I love banana bread and never thought of adding mincemeat. This looks amazing by the way!!
Helen
it does add a certain seasonal touch.
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes
Wow Helen, I’ve never thought of adding mincemeat to a quick bread before, but now that I see this, I want to try it. Stir-it-up Sunday does sound like a great idea.
Helen
it really adds a certain seasonal touch!
Kate @ Veggie Desserts
I’m NEVER organised enough to make a cake on Stir Up Sunday, though my mum always does. This cake is definitely my sort of cake, and love the sound of the banana chips on it!
Helen
I love an aged fruit cake, but this one if perfect to make quickly.
francesca
Wow!! This looks incredible and such a lovely recipe!! I’ll have to try this one, we love baking in this house!!
Helen
Let me know how it goes. I do love a good loaf cake.
Nadia
This is such a gorgeous treat!! Love the crispy/crunchy dried fruit!! So good!! Saving this lovely recipe :)
xox Nadia
Helen
the Emily Fruit crisps are amazing!
Jacqueline Meldrum
That looks gorgeous Helen. I do love a loaf cake and the topping on this one makes it special. Those fruit crisps are fab!
Helen
I love loaf cakes too, I like to concentrate on the flavour, not the sugar paste.
Sarah, Maison Cupcake
I love a good banana cake and this one looks very jazzed up and festive! These fruit crisps are clearly very versatile beyond snacking!
Helen
I adore banana cake. This one was very bananay
Ana De- Jesus
You always have such awesome recipes and this is no exception. I do love a good banana loaf!
Helen
Thank you Ana, there is something lovely about a banana loaf.
Nadia
Adding mincemeat to a banana bread is a great idea :D Love the dried banana chips decoration :)
Helen
i thought the mincemeat was a good seasonal twist.
Bee
Two of my fave things are banana bread and mince pies so this sounds like a dream!
Helen
So quick and easy