
DOLE TO PRINCE HARRY: DON’T GIVE UP ON YOUR BANANA DREAMS!
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Bob Ochsner / (714) 881-2341
DOLE TO PRINCE HARRY:
DON’T GIVE UP ON YOUR BANANA DREAMS!
Produce leader sweetens its royal cake offer
with a banana-flavored “groom’s cake” preview,
plus DIY recipes for worldwide royal watchers
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (March 21, 2018) – Dole isn’t giving up on its quest to make sure Prince Harry and Meghan Markle enjoy the banana wedding – or least the banana cake – of their dreams.
In response to reports this week that the royal couple’s wedding cake will now feature lemon and elderflower instead of bananas, Dole’s “top-banana” Executive Chef Mark Allison has unveiled a banana “groom’s cake” that could satisfy the cravings of the famously banana-loving prince on his May 19, 2018, wedding day.
A tradition that dates back to England in the late 19th century and gained popularity in the American south, smaller, less formal groom’s cakes are typically baked to the specific tastes and preferences of the groom.
When the royal couple hinted last year that they were considering a banana-flavored wedding cake instead of the traditional British fruitcake, Dole offered the services of Chef Allison to personally create and present a wedding cake that could live up to the prince’s well-documented love for the world’s most popular fruit.
Since the official royal wedding cake will now not feature bananas, the produce leader now hopes it can still deliver on Prince Harry’s passion for the sweet yellow fruit with a banana-inspired “groom’s cake,” to serve at the reception at Windsor Castle.
The world’s largest banana provider also released a pair of inspirational bake-it-yourself banana cake recipes for the hundreds of millions of royal watchers who didn’t get a wedding invite but want to celebrate at home, plus the next in its series of social memes celebrating the pair’s banana-infused courtship.
Challenged with the hypothetical cake-baking assignment of a lifetime, Mark Allison, director of culinary nutrition at the Dole Nutrition Institute (DNI) in Kannapolis, N.C., is proposing a three-tiered banana sponge cake and topped it with low fat Greek yogurt, fresh meringue and seasonal fruit instead of traditional frosting to meet the strict nutritional guidelines of Dole and DNI while still being an extremely delicious dessert worthy of inclusion at the royal wedding – even if on the side.
According to Allison, a U.K. native who moved from West Glamorgan, Wales, to the U.S. in 2004, the result combines Windsor Castle-caliber elegance with nutrition and the unmistakable banana taste the Prince of Wales loves.
“I created this groom’s cake to show the extraordinary possibilities of cooking with bananas and other fruit – even for the most elegant occasions,” he said. “By substituting low fat Greek yogurt for traditional sugar-based frosting and icing, and decorating the cake with fresh bananas, strawberries and raspberries, we can serve a cake that Harry, the future Duchess and entire Royal Family can indulge in without guilt or hesitation.”
Allison, a 37-year culinary arts veteran and former dean of culinary arts education at Johnson & Wales University (JWU), said designing a banana cake worthy of the Royal Family would represent a higher calling, both personally and professionally. “I’d work with them to create a cake they would be proud to present not only to England but to the millions of fellow banana lovers around the world.”
In a nod to royal watchers, Allison developed conventional and gluten-free banana DIY wedding cake recipes patterned after his concept cake for the royal couple. The two “I Do Love Bananas Cake” recipes are based on DOLE® Bananas and serve 12. (See Banana Cake recipes next page.)
Dole also released its third congratulatory banana meme inspired by Markle sharing a photo on Instagram in 2016 of two bananas embracing each other. As a follow-up to its royal banana proposal meme last year, the company posted an illustration of a banana Duchess at her wedding gown-fitting and plans to continue the royal banana courtship conversation with future memes.
About Dole Food Company, Inc.
Dole Food Company, Inc., is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole is an industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in nutrition education and research. For more information, visit www.dole.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dole.
SEE DIY BANANA WEDDING CAKE RECIPES BELOW
Dole’s DIY Wedding Cake Inspired by the Royal Couple
Prep: 90 minutes
Serves 12
Ingredients:
- 4 oz. Earth Balance unsalted butter, soften
- 3 large ripe DOLE® Bananas, peeled and sliced
- ¾ cup maple syrup, plus 1 teaspoon to drizzle over finished loaf
- 2 medium eggs
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup homemade granola of your favorite granola mix
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F and grease 8-inch cake tin.
- Blend first 7 ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
- Spoon the mixture into a bowl and fold in the granola.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
- Place the tin in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and rest for 30 minutes before removing the bread from the tin.
- Drizzle over the teaspoon of maple syrup, cut into wedges and serve.
“I Do” Love Bananas Cake (Gluten Free)
Dole’s DIY Gluten Free Wedding Cake Inspired by the Royal Couple
Prep: 90 minutes
Serves: 12
Ingredients:
- 3 large very ripe DOLE® Bananas, peeled
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup almond butter
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
- ½ cup raisins (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch cake tin pan with parchment paper.
- Blend bananas, eggs, oats, almond butter, maple syrup, baking soda, vanilla and salt in a blender until batter is smooth, about 1 minute. Turn off the machine and fold the pecans and raisins into the mixture.
- Spoon the batter into prepared pan and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely, if you can’t wait, cut into wedges while still warm and enjoy.
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