Banana bread with pecan topping

Grease the loaf pan with butter and dust it all round with a little flour, or spray it with cooking spray. Set aside.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together and set aside.

Mash the bananas in the mixer, or with a potato masher or a fork, and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together, which makes the bread light and fluffy with a finer texture; add warm spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg.

Fold in half the flour with a spatula, then the mashed bananas, then the remaining flour.

variation: fold in chocolate chips, raisins or nuts at this point if liked.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle chopped pecans over it for crunch.

Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven about one hour, more or less, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.