Prepare Your Tin and Oven: First, preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease a 900g (2lb) loaf tin and line it with baking parchment, leaving a little overhang on the long sides to act as handles for easy removal later.

Mash the Bananas: In a large mixing bowl, peel the ripe bananas and mash them thoroughly with a fork. You want them mostly smooth, but a few small lumps are perfectly fine and add to the texture.

Combine the Wet Ingredients: To the mashed bananas, add the melted butter, oil, both the light brown and caster sugars, the eggs, and the vanilla extract. Whisk everything together until it's well combined and the sugar has started to dissolve. I find that a simple hand whisk works best here.

Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, sift together the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and ground cinnamon (if using). Sifting is an important step as it aerates the flour and removes any lumps, leading to a lighter loaf.

Combine Wet and Dry: Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Using a spatula or a wooden spoon, gently fold everything together until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix; a few streaks of flour are okay. Over-mixing develops the gluten in the flour, which can lead to a tough, rubbery banana bread.

Fill the Tin and Bake: Pour the batter into your prepared loaf tin and smooth the top with your spatula. You can sprinkle a little extra caster sugar over the top for a crispier crust if you like.

Bake to Perfection: Place the tin in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 60-70 minutes. To check if it's done, insert a skewer or cocktail stick into the thickest part of the loaf – it should come out clean. If it's browning too quickly on top, you can loosely cover it with foil for the last 15-20 minutes of baking.

Cool Before Slicing: Once baked, let the banana loaf cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before using the parchment paper handles to lift it onto a wire cooling rack. Allow it to cool completely before slicing. This is the hardest part, I know, but it helps the loaf set and makes for much neater slices!