Cranberries were a popular fruit a hundred years ago, and many old cookbooks contain a few cranberry recipes. This year, I was intrigued by a recipe in a 1926 community cookbook from Peoria, Illinois. It contained a recipe for Cranberry Banana Dessert.
The Cranberry Banana Dessert was easy to make, tasty, and a delightful “new” way to serve cranberries. Sliced bananas, cranberries, chopped walnuts, and sugar are layered in a flat baking dish, which is then put in the oven until the cranberries burst, and the mixture is hot and bubbly. This dessert is allowed to cool before serving. It is then put into serving dishes and topped with whipped cream.
Here is the original recipe:
When I made this recipe, I was befuddled by the directions to serve the Cranberry and Banana Dessert with “whipped cream and marshmallows.” I couldn’t quite picture how to combine those two things into a topping, so I just went with the whipped cream and skipped the marshmallows.
The old recipe called for 1/4 to 1/2 cup nuts. When I made the recipe, I used 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts.
It took longer for the cranberries to burst, and for the mixture to become hot and bubbly than indicated in the original recipe. I used an oven temperature of 350° F. Maybe the recipe author used a higher temperature. In any case, when I updated the recipe, I increased the cooking time.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Cranberry Banana Dessert
3 medium bananas
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 cups cranberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
whipped cream
Step 1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
Step 2. Peel and slice the bananas, then put the slices in a flat baking dish. (A 9-inch by 9-inch baking dish works well.)
Step 3. Spread the chopped walnuts over the banana slices.
Step 4. Spread the cranberries over the walnuts, then sprinkle the sugar over the cranberries.
Step 5. Pour the water into a corner of the dish.
Step 6. Place the dish in the oven, and bake until the cranberries burst and the liquid is hot and bubbly (about 30 – 35 minutes), then remove from oven and gently stir the top layers of the mixture to mix the cranberries and sugar. (Use care not to stir so deeply that the banana slices are mixed into the cranberry layer.)
Step 7. Return to oven and cook until the mixture again begins to bubble (about 3 – 5 minutes).
Step 8. Remove from oven and let cool, then serve with whipped cream.
I’m all in for cranberries.