What to do with over-ripped bananas? Banana bread!

As I tend not to buy green bananas, I often end up with bananas left in the fruit basket for too long, skin rather brown and flesh not so firm. Banana bread is a great way to use over-ripped bananas, it makes your house smell lovely whilst it bakes, and it is delicious for breakfast with natural yogurt, or as an afternoon treat with a nice cup of tea.

You will need:

• 175g butter
• 175g brown caster sugar
• 175g self-rising flour
• 3 eggs
• 3 ripped bananas
• vanilla essence
• lemon juice

Start by preheating your oven to 190°C/thermostat 5.

In a bowl, mash the bananas with a fork and add a squeeze of lemon juice.

In another bowl, beat the soften butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one by one and fold in the flour. Add a few drops of vanilla essence, and gradually fold in the mashed bananas.

Spoon into a buttered loaf tin and bake for about an hour, until a skewer comes out of it dry.

Leave standing for 5 minutes, and then place the loaf to cool on a wire rack, and enjoy the first slice with a nice cuppa!

I think this would work really well as cupcakes, which a chocolate and coconut icing. I'll let you know how it goes next time I have bananas to use.