Sticky Toffee and Banana Pudding

An all-time favourite, I just had to include a sticky toffee pudding in the book, and my family love this banana version. The portions are deliberately generous to make sure there’s plenty left over for the rest of the week.

MAKES 2 adult and 2 kid-sized portions

PREPARATION TIME 15 minutes

COOKING TIME 30 minutes

FOR THE BANANA PUDDING

85g/3oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

250g/9oz dates, stoned and chopped

250ml/9fl oz/1 cup black tea

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda/baking soda

175g/6oz/heaped ¾ cup caster/ superfine sugar

2 eggs, beaten

175g/6oz/scant 1½ cups self-raising flour

2 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

1 teaspoon ground mixed spice

ice cream or shop-bought or Foolproof Home-made Custard (see page 128), to serve

FOR THE STICKY TOFFEE SAUCE

100g/3½oz/heaped ½ cup light brown sugar

100g/3½oz unsalted butter

125ml/4fl oz/½ cup double/heavy cream

 

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 and grease a 22cm/8½in square baking dish.

2 Put the dates and tea in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook for

3–4 minutes until soft, then stir in the bicarbonate of soda/baking soda.

3 Beat together the butter and caster/superfine sugar, using an electric mixer, until light and creamy. Stir in the eggs, flour, bananas, mixed spice and date mixture until well combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake for 40–45 minutes until the top is just firm to the touch.

4 Meanwhile, to make the sauce, put the brown sugar, butter and cream in a saucepan over a low heat and cook gently until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce is a light toffee colour. (Both the pudding and sauce can be gently reheated and served within a few days. Alternatively, a slice of pudding can be popped into lunchboxes or enjoyed with your afternoon cuppa.)

5 Once cooked, pour the warm sticky toffee sauce over the pudding and serve with ice cream or custard.