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Banana cake is a baking classic and this recipe is simple enough for older children to try. As well as bananas, it has blueberries for an extra fruity touch and there's loads of fun to be had decorating the cooked slices with bananas, blueberries and a raspberry, to look like a cute doggy.

Or even, at Christmas, if you replace the blueberry nose with the raspberry (and lose the tongue), your slices can look like Rudolph's arrived on your tea table!

You'll need a 900g loaf tin and some baking paper.

  • 150g butter, softened
  • 125g light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
  • 200g overripe bananas
    mashed
  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 100g blueberries
    plus more to decorate

For the decorations

  • banana slices
  • blueberries
  • raspberries

    Method

    • step 1

      Preheat the oven to 160°C/Fan 140°C/325°F/Gas mark 3. Grease and line a loaf tin with non-stick paper

    • step 2

      Whisk the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, bananas, flour and mixed spice. Whisk together, using an electric hand whisk

    • step 3

      Fold in the blueberries and spoon into the loaf tin. Bake in the oven for 50 mins to 1 hour, until well risen and lightly golden. Leave to cool

    • step 4

      Slice and, on each serving place, arrange 3 slices with 1 slice pointing down and 2 slices above it, pointing diagonally up, to look like a dog's or a reindeer's face and ears

    • step 5

      Add 2 banana slices for the eyes, with a blueberry in each for the pupils. Add a blueberry to make the nose, and a raspberry for the tongue

    Pic: Annabel Karmel

    Recipe extracted from Annabel Karmel's new book for budding young cooks My First Cookbook

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