* Banana Loaf

It's absolutely chucking it down, again. I know us British have a somewhat obsessive relationship with the weather - as in we all bring it into every conversation at least once (and I'm not exaggerating, not even a little) - but you can hardly blame us when we get all four seasons in one day, on what's becoming a fairly regular basis.

At the moment when the sun shines, we're all too wary of it's fleeting visit, to dig in and enjoy it. Just as we think "Is that really the sun up there?" and "I'm going to get the lawnmower out"... the heavens open and we're faced with yet another deluge of dampness. The entire country is starting to smell like permanently wet washing.

I'm so fed up with getting wet because I have to walk the dog in it, that I thought I might as well get wet voluntarily - so I've been swimming this morning, at the local holiday camp with a friend. I've never been before, even though I've lived in the village for 20 years. I had no idea that the pool was open to the public.

It was heaven.

There was hardly anyone there and the water was so warm it was like a giant cuddle as I got in. No - there hadn't been a million toddlers in there five minutes previously, all having a piddle. 

At least... I don't think there was.

It was raining when we got there. It was raining when we left. It's still raining now... and guess what...

The dog wants to go for a walk. 

She'll have to stick a cork in it. 

I want a slice of this cake.

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Makes 10 thumb thickness slices

Prep time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 1 hr

You will need
A food mixer/ bowl and electric whisk
23 x 13cm loaf tin
Baking Parchment

Ingredients
9.5oz/270g soft light brown sugar
2 eggs
3 bananas - peeled and mashed
10oz/280g self raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
5oz/140g Utterly Butterly or butter - melted

Method

Preheat oven to 170c/140c fan/375f/gas 3.

Lightly grease the loaf tin and line the base with baking parchment.

Put the sugar and eggs into the bowl of your food mixer, and using the paddle attachment beat well until thoroughly combined. Mix in the mashed bananas.

Add the flour, bicarb, cinnamon and ginger to the banana mixture, and mix it in, then add the melted butter and beat the whole thing until thoroughly combined.

Pour the batter evenly into the loaf tin, give a gentle shake the level the top or smooth it with a palette knife. Bake in the oven for about an hour or until a skewer comes out clean when passed through the centre.

Leave the cake to cool in it's tin for a while, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

EAT

8 propoints per slice if using Utterly Butterly, 9 propoints if using Butter

Lightly adapted from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook