Tom Kerridge's date and toffee puddings with caramelised bananas

Serves: 6

Sometimes you just can't beat traditional British grub. Whether it's a good roast dinner, fish and chips, a pork pie or something sweet like a classic crumble or big layered trifle.

King of traditional British food Tom Kerridge has been gracing our television screens and whetting our appetites with proper (and not at all 5:2 friendly) slow-roasted lamb, whole roast duck and fried chicken. This week he was serving up pub classics and since it aired on Monday evening we've thought about very little else than his very sweet and delicious date and toffee pudding, perfect for a wet and windy weekend...

Ingredients

• 150ml dark rum
• 1 vanilla pod, split in half lengthways and the seeds scraped out
• 250g pitted dates, chopped
• 150g plain white flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 125g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 125g dark brown soft sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 bananas
• demerara sugar, for dusting
• FOR THE TOFFEE SAUCE:
• demerara sugar, for dusting
• 170g butter, cubed
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tbsp black treacle
• 500ml double cream

Method

1. Bring 250ml water, the rum and vanilla pod and seeds to the boil in a saucepan over a high heat. Add the dates, cover the pan, remove it from the heat and leave the dates to soak for 1 hour.
2. After the dates have soaked, preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4, and grease and flour six 10cm ceramic ovenproof dishes. Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda together and leave to one side.
3. Beat the butter and dark brown soft sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the sifted flour, then fold in the date and rum mix.
4. Pour the batter into the dishes and smooth the surfaces. Place the dishes in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until a skewer stuck in the centre of each pudding comes out clean. Transfer the dishes to a wire rack and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
5. To make the toffee sauce, put the sugar, butter, golden syrup and treacle in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
6. Continue boiling until the sauce becomes a golden caramel colour. Pour in the cream to stop the cooking. Add a pinch of salt, then pass the sauce through a fine sieve into a bowl.
7. Meanwhile, to make the decorative toppings, thinly slice the bananas. Fan the slices into six 10cm circles on a metal baking sheet, then dust each with demerara sugar. Use a blowtorch to caramelise the sugar.
8. Remove the puddings from the dishes, then use a fish slice to gently transfer the glazed banana circles to the top of the puddings. Serve with the toffee sauce.