Speedy Banana Cake

This simple, quick and delicious banana cake is a recipe that my husband's Auntie Gail kindly passed on to me many years ago and it has truly stood the test of time. I have added, subtracted even forgot ingredients at times yet this sweet little recipe seems to forgive my lack of culinary skills delivering a yummy afternoon tea or mid morning snack.

The original recipe I was given doesn't have nuts in the mixture but I have experimented liberally over the years with pecans or walnuts either adding the nuts to the raw mixture when mixing or sprinkled on top before baking.

This time around I sprinkled pecans on top of the the raw mixture before baking and replaced the cow's milk with almond milk not so much for dietary reasons (although my daughter is dairy intolerant), as for experimenting with raw, unrefined ingredients. The almond milk worked brilliantly although I did sense that the cake was a little heavier than it usually is when cow's milk is used.

I usually double the recipe as there's so little involved in the making I figure I may as well get bang for my buck and create two cakes to slice for the week ahead.

Simplicity and speed aside, this clever little cake is great for freezing meaning it's just perfect for the lunchbox or lunch break.

Enjoy!

Simone x

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of self-raising flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 bananas mashed (preferably overripe)

2 eggs

1/2 cup of milk *or almond milk

125gms melted butter

Method

Heat oven to 180C if using a conventional oven or 160C if using a fan-forced oven.

Grease and lightly flour 23cm x 12cm loaf time (round tins will work too).

Place all ingredients except melted butter  in to a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 3 minutes until smooth.

With mixer running pour in melted butter.

Pour mixed batter in to tin and bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes checking at the end of this period if cake is cooked with a toothpick. Toothpick comes out clean cake is ready, toothpick comes out wet then pop back in oven for another few minutes keeping an eye on the cake so as not to overcook.

Allow cake to cool in tin for 5 minutes then on to a wire rack.

Lemon icing optional - I forgo the icing to keep the end product as healthy as possible.

* Almond milk is a fabulous alternative to dairy as there is no need to modify the quantity of milk that the recipe requires when replacing with almond milk.