Banana Bread

225g self-raising flour

100g softened butter

4 ripe bananas, mashed

50g dark soft brown sugar

4 tablespoons Golden Syrup

4 eggs

50g pecan or walnut pieces (optional)

50g sultanas (optional)

Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4

Butter and line a 900g loaf tin.

Mix all ingredients until well combined

Spoon into tin and bake in oven for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before turning out.

GINGER CAKE

225g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
100g butter, cut into cubes
100g dark muscovado sugar
100g black treacle
100g golden syrup
250ml milk
85g stem ginger from a jar, drained and finely chopped
1 egg

Preheat oven; fan 180C/conventional 200C/gas 4. Butter and line a 18cm round deep cake tin with greaseproof paper (I use ready made cake tin liners). Put the flour, bicarb and spices into a large bowl and rub butter into the mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (a few quick pulses in a food processor can do this)
Heat gently the syrup, treacle, sugar and milk in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Turn up heat and bring ALMOST to the boil.
Add the grated ginger to the flour mixture, then pour in the treacle mixture stirring continuously. Crack in the egg and beat until mixture is combined. Pour into tin and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out fairly clean. Leave to cool completely before tuning out.
*This can be served as a cake or sliced and spread with butter.
Very nice with a little lemon icing drizzled over the top.
It will keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight tin or can be frozen (un-iced) in greaseproof paper and cling film for up to a month.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

175g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
1 heaped teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoons black treacle
2 eggs
75g caster sugar
150mls milk
150mls vegetable oil
Grease 2 20cm cake tins, line with greaseproof paper (to make it easier to get cake out).Preheat oven to 170C/325F/Gas mark 3. Sift flour,cocoa,baking powder and bicarb. Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Divide mixture betwwen 2 tins; cook for 20-25 minutes. Once cooked and becoming just firm remove from oven, leave for 10 minutes before turning out. Cool and fill to your own taste. Whipped cream or butter icing is nice.
I know it may seem unusual to use cooking oil but it works!

Lemon Balm Cheesecake

Pastry
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
3 oz. butter cut into pieces
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Sift flour and salt into a bowl.
Rub in butter with fingertips until mix looks like fine breadcrumbs.
Add enough water to make a soft dough.
Roll out to line a 7” quiche dish.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Filling
2 oz. butter
2 TBS honey
12 oz. cream cheese
2 eggs beaten
6 tablespoons chopped lemon balm
Reduce oven to 350 degrees.
Beat butter, honey, and cream cheese until soft and creamy.
Beat in eggs, and fold in lemon balm.
Pour filling into pastry case, and bake for 45 minutes until golden and set.
Serve with whipped cream or yogurt.

MARMALADE CAKE

150g chunky marmalade
175g soft butter
175g soft brown sugar
3 beaten eggs
225g self raising flour
half teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon mixed spice
100g pecan or walnuts

Preheat oven...fan 160c/conventional180c/gas 4.
Butter and line a 900g loaf tin (loaf tin liners are very handy for this)
Reserve 1 tablespoon of marmalade and mix the rest in with all the other ingredients except the nuts......whisk or beat with a spoon until smooth.
Stir in half the nuts, spoon into tin, smooth top and scatter with remaining nuts.
Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. If it starts to brown too quickly cover loosely with foil once the cake has risen and set.
Leave to cool for 5 minutes then tip out onto cooling rack.
Warm the reserved marmalade gently until it has melted then brush over the top of the cake to glaze.
Serve plain or with butter.
Will keep for a few days in a cake tin (if the kids don't get it) or can be frozen for 2 months

Equally as nice using lemon or ginger marmalade

APPLE PANCAKES

Pancakes

125g plain flour

pinch of salt

1 beaten egg

300mls milk

1 tblsp oil

Filling

25g butter

750g cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced

50g brown sugar

1/2 teasp ground cinnamon

50g sultanas

To finish

3 tbspns warm apricot jam

25g toasted flaked almonds

Make the pancakes

Sift flour and salt into a bowl, add the egg, then gradually add half the milk...stirring constantly. Add the oil and beat until smooth. Add the remaining milk and leave to stand for 30 minutes before cooking.

Make the filling

Melt the butter in a pan, add the apples, sugar, cinnamon and sultanas. Cover and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes until the apples are tender.

Place a pancake on a greased ovenproof dish, cover with some of the apple mixture then put another pancake on top. Continue in this way until all the apple mixture and pancakes are used up finishing with a pancake.

Spoon over the apricot jam to glaze. Bake in a preheated oven, 180C (350F), Gas mark 4 for 10 to 15 minutes until heated through. Cut into wedges and sprinkle with almonds. Serve with whipped cream or creme fraiche.

Serves 6

Ruth's Coconut Oat Bars

Makes 12
Ready in 55 minutes

For the base
85g self raising flour
85g porridge oats
50g soft brown sugar
85g butter

For the topping
25g butter, melted
3 eggs
175g soft brown sugar
140g raisins
85g desiccated coconut
the grated rind and juice of a large lemon
50g icing sugar (optional)

Make the oat base
Turn the oven to fan 160c/conventional 180c/gas4. Put the flour, oats and sugar in a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers. Tip into the base of a 26x18cm tin and press down until smooth. Bake for 10 minutes or until pale golden.

Mix the topping
Beat the melted butter, eggs and sugar with the raisins, coconut, half the lemon rind and 2 tablespoons of juice. Pour over the baked base and return to the oven for 20 minutes more until the top is set and pale golden.

Mark the 12 bars while still warm, then leave to cool before cutting through. It is much easier to get them out of the tin when they have completely cooled.

Drizzle with icing (optional)
Tip the icing sugar into a small bowl and mix with the remaining lemon rind. Stir in up to 3 teaspoons of lemon juice to make a smooth icing then drizzle in diagonal lines over the top of each bar.

These will keep in a tin for up to a week. They are best not frozen as it will spoil texture.

Try some other flavours
juicy apricot - replace the raisins with the same amount of read to eat dried apricots, but chop them first to make raisin sized pieces

Slightly spicy - add half a teaspoon ground cinnamon to the oats to given the cake a spicy base.

Orange and coconut - Use a small orange instead of the lemon.