I saw this other (“other” simply meaning not the one I always make) Irish Soda Bread recipe on Food.com that had all these glowing reviews. What intrigued me was that the recipe did not call for butter or buttermilk…which is what I believed made the recipe I learned in Camp Fire Girls so great. I went out and bought a pint of sour cream to make this soda bread….but on the same day I decided to try the recipe, I stumbled onto a low fat beef stroganoff recipe which also needed sour cream. I wanted to make both recipes but I was going to end up 8 ounces short on sour cream and I did not want to make another trip to the store (gas prices are outrageous right now!). So, I compromised and substituted 8 oz of sour cream in the soda bread with 1 medium overripe mashed banana resulting in……low fat banana soda bread! The first day, the banana flavor really wasn’t apparent but on the second day onward, the banana flavor started to come through. The bread baked up really nicely and made a huge loaf but to me was missing that little something that butter brings to the table. Would I make it again? Sure, if I have some left over sour cream that I am trying use up…but for my yearly 3/17 Irish Soda Bread, I am going to stick with my buttermilk based recipe.

Low Fat Banana Soda Bread (adapted from Rosie’s Irish Soda Bread on Food.com)

3 1/2 cups of flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

8 ounces low fat sour cream

1 medium mashed banana

2 eggs

About 1 cup of raisins

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray (I use Trader Joe Olive Oil spray) and set aside.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and then add in sour cream and mashed banana.

Stir egg mixture into the dry ingredients (batter will be thick). Add in raisins…turn into prepared pan and using your hands, form into a mound (flour your hands a little if the dough is too sticky). Using a knife, press a cross into the top of the loaf and then place in oven.

Back for about 45-50 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.