Faced with 6 small, VERY ripe banana’s, I decided to try something different! I had some leftover butterscotch in the fridge from a previous bake and after reading an Ottolenghi recipe for mini banana cakes that are drizzled with a rum caramel when baked, I thought the combination of banana’s and caramel sounded delicious! Ottolenghi’s recipe calls for 2 tbs of malted drink powder which I didn’t have substituting it instead for milk powder. Instead of drizzling the caramel over the cake once baked, I lined the tin with the butterscotch pouring the batter on top of it so that the batter bakes into the butterscotch… the result is a fluffy, moreish sponge with a squidgy, fudgey top, turning a simple banana bread into a comfort food sensation !

Ingredients

For the sponge

  • 1oog butter at room temperature
  • 70g caster sugar
  • 70g muscavado sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 110g self-raising flour
  • 100g ground almonds
  • 2tbs milk powder
  • ½tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¾ tsp bicarb
  • 3 medium ripe bananas
  • 100g sour cream
  • 2 tbs dark rum

For the butterscotch

  • 125ml cream
  • 60g butter
  • 220g muscavado sugar
  • ¹⁄³ cup water

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°c

  1. For the butterscotch place the cream and butter in a saucepan over a medium high heat. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and set aside
  2. Meanwhile, place the sugar and water in another saucepan over a high heat and stir with a metal spoon until starting to melt. Bring to the boil and cook without stirring until the mixture is a deep golden colour
  3. Remove from the heat and working quickly, add the butter mixture in a thin steady stream, stirring constantly. It will spit so be careful!
  4. Return to the heat over a low heat and cook, stirring until the caramel has thickened slightly, 5 minutes or so
  5. Pour into a clean bowl, set aside and allow to cool to room temperature
  6. For the cake, place the butter and sugars in the bowl of an electrical mixer ( I used my kitchenaid artisan mixer) and beat on medium high until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a a time, beating after each egg, then add the vanilla and beat for about another minute
  7. In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients together, whisk and set aside
  8. Mash the bananas, and place in a separate bowl with the sour  cream and the rum. Mix well
  9. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the wet to the butter mixture , beating well after each addition until everything is well combined
  10. Pour the butterscotch into the bottom of a prepared bundt tin and spoon the cake batter over it, smoothing out the top slightly
  11. Bake for 45-40  minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean
  12. Allow the cake to cool slightly and turn out onto a plate to cool completely
  13. Serve with a blob of créme frâiche