Here’s a straight-forward, no-nonsense, cake that’s dark, delicious and very moist. You could spend time decorating it, but whether you do or not, it will always be delicious – ideal for “afternoon tea with the girls” (or boys).

Makes: One loaf: about 10 – 12 slices

Level: Easy

Time: 90 – 100 minutes + cooling

Need: A 1 kg/2 lb loaf tin + paper liner (optional)

Ingredients

100ml/3½fl oz sunflower oil, plus extra if greasing

175g/6oz caster sugar

175g/6oz self-raising flour

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pinch of salt

3 tbsp cocoa powder

100g/3½oz – 125g/4½oz chocolate chips or chunks*

125g/4½oz – 150g/5½oz very ripe bananas*

75g/2½oz – 100g/3½oz blueberries*

3 medium eggs, 2 of them separated

50ml/1¾oz milk

* Aim for around 325g/11oz combined weight of these three elements

Method

1. Heat oven to 160°C / 140°C fan / 325°F /gas 3. Grease and line the tin with baking parchment (allow two opposite sides to come above the tin). Or use a liner.

2. Mix the sugar, flour, bicarb-soda, salt, cocoa and chocolate in a large bowl.

3. Mash the bananas in a bowl and stir in one whole egg plus 2 yolks, followed by the blueberries, oil and milk. Mix together.

4. In a separate clean (non-plastic) bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff.

5. Stir the wet banana mixture into the dry ingredients then stir in a quarter of the egg whites to loosen the mixture. Next, gently fold in the rest, using a metal spoon or sharp edged spatula.

6. Pour or spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 65 – 75 min, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

7. Cool in the tin for 10 min then turn out onto a wire rack to cool fully.

Decorating options

I’ve intentionally posted this as a “straight-forward, no-nonsense” cake with no decoration. If you want to go a little further then here are a couple of easy options. (N.B. Please don’t misunderstand me – I’m NOT saying that topping a cake with chocolate or butter cream is “nonsense”…far from it.)

8. Melt about 60g/2oz chocolate with 15g/½oz butter and brush this over the cake.

9. Beat 60g/2oz butter with 60g/2oz cream cheese. Sift in 125g/4½oz icing sugar. Add a tsp of vanilla extract and beat it all together. Spoon or pipe the mixture on top of the cake.

I hope you enjoy this lovely cake. If you want more cake recipes click this link, or have a look at my site for lots of other great recipes, both sweet and savoury.

Below the gallery are a few that I’d love you to try: