Banana Fudge Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Icing

I made these for a BBQ last weekend and they went down a treat. I had some leftover chocolate buttercream icing in the freezer which I used so have somewhat guesstimated quantities - you may end up with more buttercream than you need! However, this accounts for eating whilst making it, which will definitely happen because it's the most amazing buttercream of all time, ever.

Banana, Honey and Pecan Flapjacks

When I was on maternity leave I went to a mum and baby yoga class once a week, and at the end of every class we had tea and homemade flapjack cooked by the instructor. This has led to me having a slight obsession with cooking flapjack which my waistline does not appreciate! I have experimented with lots of different flavour combinations and so far this has been my favourite. This recipe substitutes sugar and honey for the traditional golden syrup used in flapjacks; if you are not a fan of honey then you can use golden or maple syrup instead. The bananas are laid in the middle of the flapjack and make it quite moist and dense; if you prefer crunchy flapjacks you might want to omit them. If you like a crumbly flapjack, put  more oats in, as this makes them quite dense.

Banana and Lemon Cake

I have recently made the discovery that cakes, flapjacks and other baked goods will all freeze well. Joy! This means I can now bake to my hearts content without worrying that my partner and I will have to eat the proceeds in a few days (or trying to find people to offload my baked goods onto). 

The combination of flavours in this cake sounds like it wouldn't work (my partner's exact words before eating it: "I'm not sure about this...") but it really does. And providing you use ripe bananas, you should be able to taste the two flavours seperately whilst they still compliment one another.

Banana, Pecan and Apricot Loaf Cake

Since having a baby two weeks ago, as you might imagine I've not done a huge amount of cooking or baking. This was my first attempt at post-baby baking and it turned out very well, especially considering I made up the recipe as I had some dried apricots and yoghurt that needed using up. I wanted to make this banana cake distinct from my wholewheat banana nut loaf, so I didn't add any spices, but you could jazz this up a bit by adding a teaspoon of cinnamon if you wanted to. 

Wholewheat Banana Nut Loaf

I credit this recipe with introducing me to the joys of baking. High praise indeed, and worth it. Cake is one of my big weaknesses and this particular cake is, to me, everything a cake should be: moist, tasty, with the walnuts adding a lovely bit of crunch. Back in the 2006/07 academic year, I was studying for my masters and during exam time needed something to do during my revision breaks. That something was baking this cake. Once I perfected this recipe, I started experimenting with other baking recipes, and the rest, as they say, is history.