Saucy Banana and Caramel Pudding

Now this is my kind of pudding. A Pudding with a capital P. A rich, sticky, seconds-for-me-please, where-did-all-the-leftovers-go? sort of pudding. Fantastic.

Thanks and praise for this little gift of a recipe should be directed towards Jo Pratt whose first book, In The Mood for Food is fast becoming my recipe book of the year. You can find three more of her recipes here, here and here but I do recommend you try and get hold of your own copy. It will provide you with inspiration for all occasions and will be a very attractive addition to your bookshelf!

Puddings like this are notoriously hard to photograph (particularly for a novice like me, short on props and good lighting) and this photo really doesn't do it justice. Just try to picture the dish beneath the spoon filled with a golden banana sponge floating on a lake of caramel sauce....tempted yet?

So, the next time you have a couple of bananas browning in the fruit bowl don't even think about making yet another banana cake....make this!

Saucy Banana and Caramel Pudding

(adapted from In the Mood for Food by Jo Pratt)

Serves 6

For the pudding

125g plain flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon or cinnamon

125g light muscovado sugar

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 large egg, beaten

200ml milk

75g unsalted butter, melted

For the sauce

4 tablespoons golden syrup

125g light muscovado sugar

1) Preheat the oven to 180c/fan 160c/gas 4

2) Mix the flour, baking powder and mixed spice or cinnamon in a bowl then beat in the sugar, mashed banana, milk and butter until well combined.

3) Pour into a buttered 1.5 or 2 litre ovenproof dish (the bigger the better to avoid it bubbling over and making a mess of your oven) or six individual dishes (about 300ml or 400ml each).

4) Place the golden syrup, sugar and 250ml water into a pan on a medium heat. Stir until dissolved and bring to the boil. Pour immediately over the top of the pudding (don't be alarmed by the resulting cake-mix soup, it will turn out fine!). Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until golden and just firm in the centre when pressed.

5) Leave to cool for a few minutes before serving with ice cream, cream or creme fraiche.