Today's Special: Banana Walnut Cake

The Great British Bake Off is back on the telly, and to say Star2.com Food channel editor and curator Jane Ragavan is happy is an understatement. She's not the only one – the first episode of Series Six attracted 9.3 million viewers!

Bake Off is a competition show to crown Britain’s Best Amateur Baker. There are 10 episodes a season, in which bakers tackle a different type of baked good every week. The challenges involve signature, technical and showstopper bakes that test a contestant’s baking skills.

The theme for Episode #1 was cake, and so Jane baked along and then posted her effort on Star2.com. Her opening salvo was a banana walnut cake, along the lines of the traditional Madeira cake that was the challenge on Bake Off.

This cake is made using the creaming method and baked in a loaf pan. It's studded with walnuts and there's a garnish with slices of banana baked on top. Jane says she'd normally have a light glaze on top or go lavish with a cream cheese frosting, but the banana