'Yes! We have no bananas.' 'No, actually we have *literally* hundreds of bananas.'

Dear Readers,

As someone who actually *dislikes* bananas and would never dream of eating one raw (is it the phallic implication or just the texture or both?), I seem to find myself in the perplexing position of *always* having some bananas, and, what's more, they always seem to be on the cusp of liquidification. Literally. (The  dictionary-definition-minded reader will now be wondering which definition I mean of 'literally' here - see THIS ARTICLE for more information.) 

I have already brought you one 'what to do with over-ripe bananas' recipe, but in honesty it was a bit of a faff to make, so this is a far simpler option and, indeed, one I made this morning in no time at all! 

Ingredients: 175g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

125g unsalted butter melted

150g sugar (whatever you have in works - granulated is fine for this recipe) 

2 large free range eggs

However many ripe bananas you are trying to get rid of mashed up (normally 3/4 is the right amount)

Vanilla extract

100g / however much dark chocolate you have cut into small chips 

First things first: Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper and melt the butter in a saucepan. One of the easiest things about this recipe is that it only involves stirring, so you don't have to worry about your butter being straight from the fridge or anything like that because you're melting it anyway. 

Pour the melted butter on top of the sugar and beat together. 

Then beat in the eggs one by one. The mixture will thicken slightly and look something like this: 

 Then add the mashed bananas, dash or two of vanilla extract and stir it all together.

Mix the flour, baking powder and bicarb together very thoroughly - WARNING: if you don't mix in the baking powder and bicarb properly you might end up with a soapy flavour towards the bottom of the cake which is never a good thing - and then stir into the bowl about a third at a time. Stir it in well. 

The mixture will be pale and fairly thick but still thoroughly pourable. It's a very different kind of mix to a sponge cake - this is more like a batter - so don't expect it to be anything other than pourable. 

Stir your chocolate chips into the mix...

Et voila! Pour/scrape/splodge into the loaf tin and the cake is ready to go into the oven at 170 degrees for about an hour (fan assisted - prob an hour and a quarter conventional) - keep checking in the last 5/10 minutes by inserting a skewer. If it comes out clean the cake is ready.

I think you're supposed to leave it to cool before cutting it, but I prefer banana loaf hot from the oven and have convinced myself that it is a great breakfast substitute as it has fruit in it. (Ahem.)

I could never drink a glass of milk, but I had fun styling the cake for this photo with a little glass of milk for a pleasingly retro feel. 

Until the next time,
Silver Whimsy x