Dried fruit mixes, sugar and fresh bananas are Fairtrade ingredients that can be purchased in most leading supermarkets now. The Co-op has a particularly fine range. This means that you can bake some very tasty cakes using a great number of Fairtrade ingredients. And if you buy local Wessex flour from Wantage, which is milled from named local farms and on sale in many leading food stores, you can support our Oxfordshire farmers too. If you want to go further, then look out for the Upper Norton label for butter churned from Jersey Cream at Church Hanborough, which can be found in many Oxfordshire speciality food shops.

YOU WILL NEED: A 1lb loaf tin 8oz (225g) Wessex self-raising flour 4oz (100g) Upper Norton butter 5oz (150g) Fairtrade caster sugar 1lb (450g) Fairtrade bananas (ripe) Two free-range eggs 6oz (175g) Fairtrade mixed dried fruit Pinch salt.

METHOD: Place cake paper in loaf tin or grease with butter and sprinkle with a little flour to prevent sticking.

Turn oven to 180C/350F or gas mark 4.

Place the flour, butter, sugar and salt into large bowl and rub butter into the flour and sugar until the mix resembles bread crumbs.

Add the dried fruit to the flour mix.

Place the bananas and eggs into a liquidiser and zap together until you have a puree.

Stir the banana puree into flour mix until all is thoroughly mixed and then spoon into the loaf tin.

Place in the middle shelf of the oven and bake for about 1hr 15 mins, or until the cake is golden brown. Test that it is done by inserting a sharp skewer into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, give it another few minutes and try again.

Allow the cake to settle for a moment or two when cooked; then turn out and allow to cool on a wire rack.