Surely this must be one of the most indestructible cakes ever. In the absence of any biscuits or muffins to serve with a cup of tea, I quickly made up a recipe for a simple banana bread.

I started it out in Hester, the wood-fired stove in the house. That oven decided to smoke, so I whisked it out of there and, half way through baking, placed it in the small microwave/convection oven.

Actually ‘placed’ is not quite accurate. I dropped it while trying to balance it on the requisite wire rack and it fell over sideways, rather heavily.