1/2 cup butter or shortening (I prefer butter, just btw)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, separated
3 bananas, preferably overripe mashed or pureed
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1-2 TBSP peach jam or pear preserves (see note)
Pre-heat oven at 325 F. Grease and flour a loaf pan or 8" x 8" baking dish.
Beat egg whites until stiff (add a pinch of cream of tartar if you have it), and set aside.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
Cream butter/shortening with sugar. Beat the egg yolks well and add to butter/shortening mix, blending until mostly smooth. Add the bananas and jam/preserves, stir in well.
Add butter/sugar/egg/jam mixture to sifted flour, stir until consistent. Fold in beaten egg whites and nuts until you're satisfied with the texture.
Bake for 1 hour or until cake tester or wooden skewer inserted into centre comes out clean and dry. As a rule, it's a **little** better to underbake than overbake.
Remove and let cool for 10-15 minutes on countertop or rack. Run a small sharp knife around the edge of the pan/dish (important!). Serve with softened butter and/or a sprinkle of cinnamon on each slice/piece.
Note: you can use any jam/jelly/preserves you like. One with a more neutral flavour, such as pear, tends to work better. The purpose of the jam/jelly/preserves is to enhance and retain moisture (and, boy, does it work!).
Next note: the purpose of beating the egg whites rather than just adding the whole egg is to change the texture of the bread. Therefore, do not OVERfold when adding the stiff egg whites; just give them a decent mix. If you like, fold in the nuts before folding in the egg whites, for better distribution of the nuts.
Thank you all so much for the recipes ~ we can always count of FReepers! I have printed them up and will let the daughter decide which one she wants to use.