75g margarine
110g soft brown sugar
Few drops vanilla essence
1tbsp lemon juice
3 small to medium very ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, beaten together
50g chopped pecan or walnuts
225g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
2tbsp clear honey, warmed
1-2tsp preserving sugar

1. Cream the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat the vanilla and bananas together, then blend into the margarine and sugar until quite smooth. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.

2. Then beat in the eggs gently, alternating with the flour and finally the nuts. When everything is well blended, spoon into a 2lb/900g loaf tin or an 8in/20cm cake tin with greaseproof base.

3. Bake for about one hour or until firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes in the tin. Then gently remove from the tin and place on a cooling rack.

4. Brush the top with warm honey and sprinkle with the sugar to give a crunchy topping. Wrap up well and store until required. Serve lightly buttered if you wish.

Food Features rating: Teatime of School Lunch Healthy Snack.