Food alert, banana bread loaf

I've seen it in Tom's Deli at Somerset House, but never tried it. My friend, who just finished university, swore by it during exams, but I was still hesitant to try it out myself because it had the word 'bread' in it - doesn't that involve hard work and kneading??

To quote Mr. Warhol : 'Uhm, no.'

It's such an easy receipe that I cannot believe it's not in my family's kitchen repertoire, especially since we almost unfailingly have ripe bananas just hanging around, with no potential of being eaten in the foreseable future. 

All you need is:

• 285g flour
• 225g sugar
• 110g butter
• 2 eggs
• 85ml milk mixed with a dash of lemon juice
• 4 mashed bananas
• a teaspoon of baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• some vanilla extract (I used rum, sorry, not sorry, but it's non-alcoholic anyway)
• some nuts for decoration if you want
• maybe poppy seeds to add at the very end - gives it a bit of crunch

Preparatory things:

Firstly measure out all your ingredients and try to cut the butter in the smallest pieces possible and place next to heat/sun as it will need to soften.

Then, preheat the oven to 180 C.

Grease the cake tin.

Actual cooking instructions:

Sift in the flour and then add the baking soda and salt, then make a small hole in the middle of the bowl.

After you feel that the butter has softened enough, add the sugar to it gradually and mix. I find that it helps using a sturdy spoon and mashing the butter against the bowl to incorporate the sugar until the mixture is even and clumps together.

To the butter, add the mashed bananas, the two eggs, the milk and the flavoring and stir. 

Then gradually pour the mixture in the flour bowl and stir each time, till it's all one consistency. Here you can add the poppy seeds or nuts for that 'je ne sais quoi'.

Then pour it in to the tin and place in the oven for about an hour; it has to have risen and be golden-brown. (Always check though).

Leave to cool and serve, but before that, please take the time to lick the bowls and spoons clean!