Banana cake with walnut crumble crunch

A wedge of this alongside a cup of coffee or tea makes for a perfect Sunday

Ingredients:

• 250g light brown sugar
• 250g self raising flour, sifted
• 140g walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 eggs plus 2 egg white
• 4 ripe bananas or 3 large, mashed
• 150ml sunflower oil
• 100ml milk
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 1tsp baking powder

Method:

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C. Line the base and sides of a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment.

For crumble topping: stir together 2 tbsp each of the sugar, flour and chopped walnuts, then add the butter, cut into a few pieces, and rub together until you have sticky crumbs. Set aside.

Break up the whole eggs with fork, then mix with the mashed bananas, oil and milk until all the wet ingredients are well combined.

In a separate large bowl sift in the self raising flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Then stir in the sugar and the chopped walnuts.

Whisk the egg whites until just stiff in another clean oil free bowl.

To combine add the oily banana mixture into the bowl of the dry ingredients and stir well together until you have a smooth, lump free mixture. Finally using a large metal spoon or spatula gently fold in the egg whites. Then carefully pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Scatter over the crumble topping and bake for 1 hour, until the skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Check the cake within 15 minutes to go, if the surface is browning too quickly cover with another piece of baking parchment.

Once the cake is ready leave it in the tin for 5 minutes, then finish cooling in a wire rack.