For all those hungry little monkeys out there who love their bananas!
Another egg-free recipe for you to try. In our house, our daughter’s job is mashing the bananas (so you might end up with less than you started with!).

Ingredients:
100g (3 ½ oz) softened butter, plus a little extra for greasing
140g (5oz) caster sugar
225g (8oz) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 very ripe bananas
50 ml milk
2lb loaf tin

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F)/170C fan/gas mark 4.
2. Grease the loaf tin with some butter. Line the base with baking parchment and grease this too.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar, then slowly mix in the flour and baking powder. Peel, then mash the bananas. Now mix everything together adding in the milk last (depending on the size of your bananas you may not need as much milk if the mixture is wet enough).
4. Pour your mixture into the tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow the banana bread to cool on a wire rack before removing from the loaf tin.
5. Wrap tightly in cling film and store in airtight container. You may also freeze for use at a later date (defrost and warm through before serving). Deelicious….!

Looking for a really quick & easy recipe and to spend some fun time bonding with the kids?
You can’t go wrong with this simple shortbread recipe!

Ingredients:

125g (4oz) butter
55g (2oz) caster sugar, plus extra to finish
180g (6oz plain flour)
Baking tray
Cookie cutters

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 190C (375F) / Gas 5.
2. Beat the butter and the sugar together until smooth.
3. Stir in the flour to get a smooth paste. Turn on to a work surface and gently roll out until the paste is 1cm/½ inch thick.
4. Cut into shapes and place onto a baking tray. Sprinkle with caster sugar and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
5. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.

This delicious chocolate cake is the staple for big celebrations in our house! To make it dairy-free as well as egg-free, you can use soya margarine instead of butter.

Ingredients:

85g (3oz) butter, plus extra for greasing
2 tbsp Golden Syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
300mls boiling water
300g (10 ½ oz) self-raising flour
100g (3 ½ oz) caster sugar
25g (1oz) cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
20cm round cake tin

Chocolate Buttercream Icing

50g (2oz) butter softened
140g (5oz) icing sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp boiling water

Method:

1. Heat oven to 160C / Fan 140C / Gas 3
2. Grease the cake tin.
3. Add the butter, golden syrup and vanilla extract to a heatproof jug. Add 300mls boiling water and whisk with a fork to combine.
4. Sieve the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl, then tip in the butter mixture. Stir until you have a smooth batter, then add to the prepared tin. Bake for 50-55 mins until the cake is well risen and springy to touch. Leave to cool in the tin for around 15 minutes before turning out to cool on a wire rack.
5. To make the chocolate icing, mix together the cocoa powder and boiling water to make a smooth paste. Let it cool. Beat together the butter and icing sugar until creamy. Fold in the cooled cocoa paste and mix together to form a smooth icing.
6. Once the cake is completely cooled, take a palette knife and smooth the icing over the top and sides of the cake to your desired taste.
7. This really is a great cake for all those birthday celebrations – you won’t have much left!

These are very popular in our house. Be warned, they are really tasty! They are packed with oats so they provide good slow-release energy for kids and adults alike.

Ingredients:

350g (12oz) butter
2 generous tbsp. golden syrup
175g (6oz) soft light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
75g (3oz) plain flour
375g (13oz) rolled oats
125g (4.5oz) desiccated coconut
38cm x 25cm (15’ x 10’) Swiss roll tin

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), gas mark 4.
2. Place the butter, golden syrup, sugar and vanilla extract into a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer and stir, allowing the butter to melt and form a smooth sauce. Remove from the heat and add the flour, oats and coconut. Stir to mix and pour into the Swiss roll tin, spreading evenly into each corner and smoothing the surface of the oats with the back of the spoon.
3. Bake in the middle of the oven (too close to the top will cause them to burn) for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.
4. Once cool, cut into squares and store in an airtight container.