From a favourite M&S book - Good Home Baking
Ingredients
8oz/225g self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4oz/100g butter
6oz/175g soft dark brown sugar
3oz/75g raisins
2 ripe bananas
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 beaten egg
3 tablespoons milk
Method
Line the bottom of a 2lb/1kg loaf tin with greaseproof paper and grease the tin all over.
Place the flour and salt in a bowl, add the butter, cut into pieces and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. (I use the food processor for this step)
Stir in the sugar and raisins.
Mash the bananas with a fork and add to the mixture with the vanilla essence, beaten egg and milk.
Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
Place the tin on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 160oC (gas 3 or 325oF) for 1.5 hours (or less in a fan oven), until the cake is golden brown and springs back when pressed with the fingers.
Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire tray.
This is lovely sliced (especially when still warm!) and buttered.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C or gas mark 4.
Butter and line the bottom of two 20cm sandwich tins (or three tins if smaller). In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb and salt. In another bowl or measuring jug whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until blended. Using an electric mixer, beat together the melted butter and corn oil until just blended, then beat in the water. Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix everything together on a slow speed. Add the egg mixture, and mix again until everything is blended and then pour into the prepared tins.
Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their tins on a wire rack for 15 minutes and then turn the cakes out onto the rack to cool completely.