Banana Cake - very easy but my own recipe so don't get too excited!

I mentioned to some friends the other day about how I made 2 cakes recently without recipes and just added ingredients as I went along and they turned out great.  I just went along with the supposition that if they didn’t turn out well and look like cakes, then we could just put custard on them and eat them for deserts.  I have had so many people asking for the recipes that I thought I may as well put them on my blog.  The first one was a Banana Cake to use up some past-their-prime bananas (soft but still white inside but had dark spotty skins outside – just a bit too squidgy to want to eat normally) and the 2^nd one was Blackberry and Apple Cake to use some stewed apples and blackberries as we had loads.  The cakes turned out great and so I wrote down as near as I could the recipes for both of them.  It is a bit of a problem though in working out what a “splodge” of butter and a sprinkle of spices were so I made the Banana Cake again to check the ingredients.  But I will have to work out how much 1/3 of a carton of Chinese Chow Mein is because that was how much stewed blackberry and apple I used, as it was stored in one of those at the time – although I don’t think it will matter too much as to how much a 1/3 is for the recipe.  So I will add that one on another blog.  These cakes are very very simple and easy to make.  I don’t believe in complicated recipes.  Apologies in advance that the ingredients are in ounces for those who only use grams now.  I think 250grams is about the same as 8oz.

SUZY’S  BANANA  CAKE

Turn oven on to 150 degrees (electric fan oven) – low/medium heat.

Put all ingredients in a large mixing bowl - put bananas in first and mash.

6 overipe bananas – mashed

1 tablespoon runny honey

12 oz self raising flour

2-3 teaspoons baking powder

8 oz castor sugar

4 oz soft spreadable butter

4 XL eggs    (probably 5 medium sized, if that is what you use)

2 teaspoons mixed spices

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix well and put into a greased cake tin – I used a circle one for this (with a hole in the middle) but I don’t suppose it matters what tin you use.  Or you could put it in 2 sponge tins and cook a bit hotter but for half the time (I make sponges on 160 degrees).

Cook for approx. 1 hour until a knife comes out clean.

Check after 45-50 minutes and if the top is browning too fast, loosely cover the top with foil.

You can at this point sprinkle some castor sugar over the top as well.

I expect you know this already but don’t take the cake out until it looks ready on the top (at least ¾ of the way through the cooking time) or it will sink.  Just like Yorkshire Puddings do.