This is possibly the nicest, moistest, moreish carrot cake around. It’s the 'secret' ingredient of bananas that really makes it special. And the cream cheese icing is the right balance of flavours – I’m not a fan of overly sweet stuff. For this one I used half pecans and half walnuts. I also add a bit of freshly grated nutmeg into the mixture, and then grate some more over the top for flavour and effect. And because I like using my teeny tiny grater.

Also, this time I made it it had the added excitement of all three of the eggs (from the farm over the road) being double yolkers! 

Rumour has it that this cake will last for days without going dry, but we’ve yet to test that theory here.

Waitrose Banana and Carrot Cake

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 ¼ hours, plus cooling

Ingredients

3 medium eggs

175g soft brown sugar

175g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

175ml sunflower oil

175g walnut pieces

2 ripe, medium bananas, mashed

175g grated carrot

Icing

75g butter, softened

75g cream cheese

150g icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Chopped walnuts, to decorate

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C, gas mark 3. Grease a 20cm-diameter cake tin with removable base.

Beat the eggs and the sugar together until thick. Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well then add the oil and walnuts, then the banana and carrot.

Pour into the tin. Bake for 1¼ hours or until a skewer comes out clean. Cover with foil if it begins to brown too much. Cool on a rack.

For the icing, beat the butter and cheese together, then add the sugar and vanilla. Spread on the cold cake. Finish with walnuts.

Devour.