Banana sticky toffee pudding recipe

This sticky toffee pudding is made with mashed-up bananas instead of dates, so it’s a tad lighter in colour than you might be used to. The secret to its assembly is to slice the cake once cooked then coat it in the hot toffee sauce, so the sponge soaks up the sauce to make it extra sticky.

Timings

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Serves

4

Ingredients

For the sponge

• 130g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
• 180g dark brown sugar
• 2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
• 220g strong plain flour, sifted with 7g baking powder
• 2 tbsp black treacle
• 2 bananas, peeled and mashed

For the toffee sauce

• 320ml double cream
• 170g caster sugar
• 70g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp black treacle
• a splash of milk, if needed

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4. Grease and line a baking dish, or a loaf tin roughly 20 x 10cm and 10cm deep.
2. Using an electric stand mixer, or by hand, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs slowly, taking care that the mixture does not separate (if it does, add a little of the flour and continue mixing).
3. Mix in the treacle and bananas, then fold in the sifted flour slowly, until the mixture is smooth.
4. Transfer the mixture to the dish or loaf tin with a rubber spatula, smoothing out the top.
5. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until the sponge feels firm to the touch.
6. Meanwhile, make the toffee sauce. Pour half of the cream into a thick-bottomed pan along with the other ingredients (not including the milk) and bring to the boil, stirring with a wooden spoon. 
7. Continue to cook on a medium heat until the sauce is golden brown, stirring regularly to avoid it burning. 
8. Remove the sauce from the heat, allow it to cool slightly, then whisk in the remaining cream. The sauce should be the consistency of runny honey. If it’s too thick, add a little water or milk.
9. Remove the sponge from the dish and trim each side if necessary to make it into a uniform rectangle. Cut the sponge horizontally into four even slices and use half the sauce to spread on each slice (reserving some of that half for the top). Reassemble the slices in the baking tin, finishing with some sauce over the top slice.
10. Cover with greaseproof paper and reheat in the oven for 20 minutes, then cut into four equal portions and top with the remaining toffee sauce (reheated if necessary). 
11. Serve the pudding with ice cream, sour cream or crème fraîche.