1 jar (10 oz) maraschino cherries*

1 cup plain unbleached flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened (prefarably organic)

½ cup Billington’s Natural Light Brown Muscovado Sugar

2 cage-free eggs

3 ripe bananas

¼ cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Drain the maraschino cherries, reserving 2 tablespoons syrup.  Cut the cherries into quarters and set aside.  Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, eggs and reserved cherry syrup and mix on medium speed of an electric mixer until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Mash the bananas.  Add the flour mixture to the bowl alternately, with the mashed bananas beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Stir in the cherries and nuts.

Spread the batter evenly in a greased 9x5x3-inch baking pan.  Bake for about 1 hour, or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool.