Weetabix cake recipe

This weetabix cake is an ingenious invention that’ll transform your favourite morning meal into a tasty teatime treat - and is a great way to use up leftover bananas.

This cake is a healthier option than your usual cake recipe thanks to the addition of Weetabix. The fibre-rich cereal is balanced out with a mixture of fruit including apricots, sultanas and mashed banana, which reduces the amount of sugar you need to use. In the video below mummy blogger Anneliese Giggins, shares her tips on making this with children - with the help of her two year old son.  Depending on how thickly you cut the slices, this delicious loaf cake will serve around four to six people.

Please note: the nutritional information provided for this recipe is calculated as a whole recipe and not per portion, jar, or person.

Ingredients

• 2 Weetabix, crushed
• 275ml milk
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 ripe banana
• 300g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g sultanas or raisins
• 50g dried apricots
• 50g glacé cherries, halved

You will also need

• 2lb loaf tin, greased with butter and lined with greaseproof paper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F/Gas mark 3.
2. Locate your loaf tin, then ask your child to grease it with a little butter. Thank your little one for doing such a great job, then turn your back and quickly wipe the butter around the tin a little more evenly. Cut a piece of greaseproof paper to size and line the base of the tin.
3. We shall start with crushing up the Weetabix. I promise that your child will squeal with delight when doing this. Place the Weetabix into a large mixing bowl and ask your little one to crumble them into little pieces. It might be a good idea to be sure that children hold their hands down into the bowl while they do this. My little boy did it with his hands level with his head and bits shot all over the place.
4. Now to add the milk. I know how much my boy likes to say “whoosh”, so I measured the milk into a jug and let him pour it on top of the Weetabix. The mixture looks very runny at this stage but, after just a few moments, you will notice it start to thicken as the Weetabix absorbs the milk.
5. Crack the egg into a small bowl and pass to your child with a fork so they get the joy of lightly beating it. Now they can pour the beaten egg into the mushy mixture.
6. If you are using a particularly large bowl it might be easier for small hands if you ask them to mash the banana before adding to the Weetabix mixture. It won't make any difference which way you choose to do it. I admit that the mixture does NOT look very appetising at this point; I think I can leave it to your imagination as to what it resembles. I promise it gets better!
7. Measure the sugar, flour and mixed spice into the bowl and mix. My little boy started off very enthusiastically but soon his arms grew weary and I was asked to take over... It is a fairly stiff mixture but it can withstand a firm mix.
8. Lastly, add the dried fruit. I used a mixture of sultanas, dried apricots and cherries but you can use whatever dried fruit takes your fancy. Stir in the fruit and mix until combined with the rest of the ingredients.
9. Now the cake is made, all that is left is to transfer it to the tin. I held the bowl above the tin and my boy used a spoon carefully to assist the mixture’s short journey.
10. Place the tin into the oven and leave to cook for 1¼ to 1½ hours, until golden brown firm to the touch and a skewer or knife comes out clean.
11. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool and then sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Top tips for making weetabix cake:

You could replace the Weetabix with any of your favourite cereals to experiment. Or add some chocolate drops into the mixture for some extra sweetness.