Toss-in-anything gluten-free, dairy-free cake

Credit: Carol Pope

Trying to go gluten free this past year, I was shocked at the price of most of the ready-made gluten-free goods in stores. Very quickly I was motivated to make my own. Some web searching produced this banana bread recipe, which I’ve adapted and made dozens of times with no flops despite lots of experimentation. Because of the long cooking time, I always double the recipe, and this seems to fit fine in our KitchenAid-mixer bowl. Often, I even make two double recipes in a row, while all the ingredients are out, and get four loaves into the oven at once. A wonderful way to use up over-ripe fruit!

Toss-in-anything gluten-free, dairy-free cake ¼ cup oil (I usually use olive or grapeseed) 3 large or 3 ½ medium-sized bananas or about 1½ cups of any fruit (apples, berries, peaches and various mixtures of bananas and fruits all work fine) 2 cups rice flour 1 cup sugar 1 cup finely chopped or ground nuts or seeds (ground almonds, hemp hearts and flax seed have all proved to be good additions) 2 eggs 2 tsp. gluten-free baking powder ½ tsp. sea salt 1 tsp. gluten-free vanilla Mix the oil with sugar, then beat in the eggs, vanilla and fruit mixture. Combine dry ingredients together, then add to the wet mixture. Beat until dry ingredients are moist. A 5-x-9 loaf pan works well. Bake at 325°F for one hour and 20 minutes.