sticky banana pudding
with salted butterscotch sauce, of course
it’s sticky date pudding, but with tiny dried bananas instead of dates
using dried bananas gives this the most intense banana aroma
yields eight petite servings
ingredients
sticky banana cake
115g whole dried bananas
0.5 tsp bicarb soda
110mL boiling water
35g butter, softened
20g brown sugar
1 egg
0.5 tsp baking powder
80g plain flour
100mL milk
salted butterscotch sauce
60g white sugar
22g butter
75mL cream
big pinch of salt
method
sticky banana cake
chop the dried bananas (115g) into 1 cm pieces
add the bananas, bicarb soda (0.5 tsp), and boiling water (110mL) to a bowl and let sit for about 30 minutes
preheat the oven to 180°C
line a 15cm cake tin with baking paper
once the bananas have cooled and softened, transfer the entire mixture to a blender and blitz briefly to form a thick slurry
in a separate bowl, cream together the butter (35g) and brown sugar (20g) until lightened and fluffy
beat in the egg (1)
add the banana mixture, flour (80g), baking powder (0.5 tsp), and milk (100mL) and fold together until just combined
pour into the prepared cake tin
bake for 20-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean
while the cake is baking, prepare the sauce
salted butterscotch sauce
add the sugar (60g) to a saucepan over medium heat
cook, swirling the pot occasionally, until the sugar has liquefied and turned golden brown
as soon as the sugar is perfectly golden brown but not burnt, add the butter (22g) and stir vigorously
the mixture will hiss and bubble but eventually settle down
add the cream (75mL) and a generous pinch of salt (to cut the sweetness) and stir to combine
cook for 3-5 more minutes until the sauce has thickened
as soon as the cake is out of the oven, use a fork to poke holes all over the top
pour over about half of the warm butterscotch sauce to soak into the cake
let sit for 15-20 minutes
serve warm with the remaining sauce
