Beautifully moist, quick to make and full of fruity flavour, this is a great banana cake recipe.
You can’t get much more banana-y than this fruit-crammed recipe, one to remember when you find you have a whole bunch of bananas in the bowl which have mysteriously ripened overnight and are crying out ‘Eat me!’
Grated citrus rinds add a bit of zest, but don’t worry if you don’t have an orange or lemon to hand, they aren’t crucial.
This moist cake keeps well for 2-3 days in an airtight container. You can make it in a loaf tin for slicing, or drop spoonfuls of the mixture into muffin cases to make individual cakes. It's also a very popular cake for lunch boxes.
Grease and base-line a loaf tin measuring 8.5 by 19cm (1 lb capacity), or set 12 paper muffin cases into a muffin tin. Heat the oven to 350F/180C/gas 4.
Put butter, caster sugar and egg into a bowl. Sift in flour and baking powder. Using an electric mixer, whisk until thoroughly combined. Add the grated lemon and orange rind if using.
Slice the bananas into another bowl, and mash to a pulp. Add to the flour mixture, along with the walnuts and whisk again thoroughly.
Spoon the mixture into the tin or cases and bake until risen and browned, and springs back when pressed with a finger. A loaf takes about 50 minutes. Muffins take 15-20 mins.
Leave cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning on to a wire tray.
Making cakes is easy, and the results taste far better than anything you could buy in a shop. For another banana cake, see this Banana Nut Bread Recipe.
