In our house there always seems to be a couple of sad overripe bananas left in the fruit bowl. The children don’t like them when they’re green and won’t even contemplate eating a banana with ‘black bits’ on. However, it’s a different story when they’re baked into a delicious banana bread!

This is a variation of a recipe I found in a magazine a few years ago and have adapted to suit my family’s tastes (ie no sultanas or apple pieces although these can be added if you wish. I sometimes add some chopped up chocolate which always goes down a treat). It really is very simple and the banana bread tastes wonderful eaten warm straight from the oven or toasted with lashings of butter.

220g plain flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

80g caster sugar

75g brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all of the above in a bowl, make a well in the centre and add:

2 medium eggs

125ml vegetable oil

3 mashed ripe bananas

Pour into a greased 20cm x 10cm loaf tin, sprinkle with brown sugar and bake in a preheated oven at 160c/140c fan/ gas 2 1/2 for 60 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.