Banana Cake with Chocolate, Sultanas and Walnuts

Banana cake is flavored with banana and filled with chocolate, sultanas and crunchy walnuts. It remains moist for about five days. It is good to eat plain or with butter, or iced for morning or afternoon tea.

Ingredients

 * 1/2 cup sultanas
 * 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
 * 1 cup chocolate, roughly chopped
 * 125g butter
 * 3/4 cup castor sugar
 * 2 eggs
 * 1 1/4 cups ripe mashed banana
 * 2 cups self-raising flour
 * 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
 * 1/4 cup milk
 * 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preparation
Mix the sultanas, nuts and chocolate together in a bowl. In another bowl cream the butter and sugar until very soft. Beat the eggs and add a little at a time, mixing well. Stir in the sultanas, nuts and chocolate, along with the mashed banana. The mixture will probably curdle, but will smooth out when the flour is added.

Sift the flour and bicarbonate soda into a bowl. Mix the milk with lemon juice. Add some of the flour to the banana mixture, stir, then add the milk and the rest of the flour.

Butter the base and sides of a 25 x 15-centimetre loaf tin and line the base with non-stick baking paper. Spoon in the mixture and level the top. Bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees) for about one hour or until it is firm when the centre is pierced with a fine skewer. It may take longer depending on the ripeness of the banana.

Leave to cool in a tin for 10 minutes before turning out on to a cake rack to cool. Before serving, sift a little icing sugar over the top.