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Baking Success Banana and Walnut Cake

Dear Readers,

I was ready to throw the towel in literally. Cake after cake had been pure disaster and I was losing hope and willpower. Surely my inner Delia was in there!!!  Low in spirits, I found a recipe on-line which promised a banana cake to die for. I was sceptical however the results were amazing. Three slices later I can see the light at the end of this tunnel of culinary darkness.

I have included the recipe - it's no secret!

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Line the loaf tin with baking parchment. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric hand whisk until pale, light, and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well as you do so, and adding a tablespoon of the flour after each one. This will stop the mixture curdling.

2. 2

   Peel and mash the bananas in a small bowl with a fork, then stir into the loaf mixture, along with the chopped dates and walnuts. Fold in the remaining flour and the baking powder, then spoon the mixture into the tin. Smooth the top, pressing well into the corners. Bake for 1 hour–1 hour 15 minutes, or until risen and firm to the touch. If the top of the cake starts to brown too much before it is fully cooked, cover with foil. Leave to cool in the tin, then cut into slices.

Ingredients

• 100g butter, at room temperature
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 225g self-raising flour, sifted
• 2 bananas, about 300g in total, unpeeled
• 100g stoned dates (medjool are best), chopped
• 50g walnut pieces, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp baking powder

Serves 8

Total time required  1 hr 35 mins

• Preparation time: 20 mins
• Cooking time: 1 hr 15 mins

For the record i didn't have any dates. ( and im not a huge fan) so i threw in some blueberries about a huge handful size. 

Also added some chopped dark chocolate because it all seemed abit healthy. You gotta live a little!!!

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