Chrissy Teigen swapped her husband John Legend’s underpants for brown bananas she needed to bake banana bread after putting out a plea for the fruit on Twitter.

The US model, TV presenter and cookbook writer took her followers on a hilarious baking journey across several hours, which resulted in two of her fans receiving pairs of musician Legend’s boxer shorts in exchange for the rotten fruit she desperately needed.

Teigen first told of her struggle to make the cake due to a lack of suitably ripened bananas, writing to her 7.5 million Twitter followers that she did not want “banana browning hacks”.

“Just… if u have 6 BROWN bananas in the LA area lmk.”

She added: “If u have 6 BROWN bananas in the LA area, I will send my assistant to your home with a signed cookbook, John’s underwear and a Becca palette.”

Teigen asked people to post pictures of themselves holding the six brown bananas doing the “peace sign” by way of evidence, and several of her Los Angeles-based fans responded.

Writer Meg Zukin caught the eye of Teigen, as she shared a snap of herself holding five. After some deliberation, the model decided that five bananas should be enough and her assistant would be able to retrieve them.

Keeping her fans updated, Teigen wrote: “Banana submissions are now closed. thank you guys so much I will send the runner ups some banana bread once done.”

She added: “Just for safety, my assistant asks that u taste a small piece of the banana in front of her before making the trade.”

Fans following Teigen’s banana hunt were updated within an hour, with pictures of her assistant meeting up with Ms Zukin to make the trade.

Grammy-winning star Legend, who was seemingly not present during his wife’s escapades, was asked by a fan if he was aware that she had given away his underwear.

He responded: “Yes and I approve. Can’t make banana bread without brown bananas!”

However, Teigen later realised – mid-way through preparing her yearned-for banana treat – that she still needed a sixth banana for her recipe.

“I really, really hate to say this but. I need one more banana,” she wrote, showing a picture of the mushed yellow fruit in a measuring cup.

Teigen went back to one of the other people who had previously offered her a banana, asking if the fruit was still available.

A few direct messages between Teigen and her follower Jake Updegraff later resulted in him being met by her assistant to exchange his bananas for a copy of the signed cookery book, Legend’s underpants and the Becca make-up palette.

Avid tweeter Teigen took to the social media site again, writing: “This is no longer my banana bread. this is *our* banana bread.”

Hours later – bake successfully completed – she shared videos of her large, round banana cake online, revealing how happy she was over its moistness.