Banana cake recipe

Yesterday evening I made a banana cake. I live tweeted it because I am silly like that - but I also thought I'd blog it because I've made this recipe twice now (on recommendation form @parsnip45 on twitter) and it's really nice. And the second time I needed the recipe I'd lost the link!

The recipe is so nice that my husband is sneakily buying bananas and hiding them until they are over ripe and then declaring "Oh you'd better make a banana cake with these, shame to waste them"

Reasons we like the cake are; it's easy to make, it uses up over ripe bananas (and we all know how they suddenly go brown when no one is looking), it has no nuts in (though you could probably add walnuts if you like them, I do but DH doesn't) and no raisins either. It's just banana cake.

I use a recipe form The BBC site  http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/bananabread_85720 but I slightly alter it, I miss out the salt and add up to 2oz less sugar than the recipe calls for. I don't like a really sweet cake and even with the less sugar it tastes nice.

So here is the step by step guide.

• 285g/10oz flour (I use self raising, but plain works)
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (less if using self raising flour)
• 110g/4oz butter
• 170g/6oz caster sugar (this is less than the BBC version, but I prefer it)
• 2 eggs
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 85ml/3fl oz buttermilk (or normal milk mixed with 1½ tsp lemon juice or vinegar) - I just add some lemon juice to semi-skimmed milk and it thickens it ok
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

You need, weighing scales, 3 large-ish mixing bowls, a wooden spoon, a fork, a sieve, a loaf tin (5inches by 8inches) and an oven!

First I sieve the flour and the bicarb in a large bowl.

Then cream the butter and sugar in another bowl.

Mash the bananas in your third bowl using a fork. (this is a perfect job for kids if they are helping)

Add the mashed bananas to the butter and sugar, add the eggs, vanilla extract and milk too, mix it up - it will be sloppy.

Fold the sloppy mix into the flour.

Line a loaf tin with baking paper and pour in the mix. Sprinkle some soft brown sugar on the top (optional but gives an ace crunchy texture and a shine)

Bake for about 1 hour 20 minutes on gas 4 (check cake is cooked through by poking a knife into it - knife should come out clean not sticky, give it a few more minutes if it's not done)

Lift it out and cool it - we often eat it while it's still warm! It's a really moist cake, probably keeps OK but I have no experience of this!