Banana Pecan Self-Saucing Pudding

Warm and gooey and so comforting, this self-saucing pudding is perfect for chilly days. An easy cake batter with banana and toasted pecans sits on top of a sticky caramel sauce that forms as the pudding bakes. It’s magical and delicious and best eaten hot from the oven, with cream or a scoop of melty vanilla ice cream!

I made this based on a BBC Good Food recipe and accidentally misread the fact that it used self-raising flour and just used regular all-purpose flour. With the result that my first attempt was dense and strange and in trying to make it small-batch, the dish itself was too small and the sauce was buried so deep underneath, it defeated the purpose. I also felt it needed more sauce to begin with it and saw on Recipe Tin Eats that adding a higher proportion of water to sugar was the trick.

I played around a lot with the recipe after that, using more banana, more butter, a little baking soda in addition to the baking powder and more pecans. The cake was soft and light, more flavourful and the sauce, after thickening up a bit when left to cool for about 10 minutes, was definitely there!

I used a wider dish as well so the cake had the right height that it didn’t immediately soak up the sauce but nor it was so tall that you had to hunt for the sauce. The flavours of cinnamon, brown sugar and the toasty pecans are delicious and so cozy! I will say self-saucing puddings need to be eaten fresh. The sauce thickens the longer it’s stored so it’s not quite the same gooey dessert on day two or three. So if you have a small group to share this with, that’s the time to make and devour it. I’ve tried self-saucing puddings in ramekins too, but I think I now prefer this one-dish, scoop and serve kinda thing instead!

It’s meant to be a slightly messy bowlful of deliciousness, so embrace it. Also the nicest upgrade banana cake could get! I hope you love it 🙂

Please read the recipes notes before beginning.

Banana Pecan Self-Saucing Pudding

A soft banana pecan cake with a caramel sauce underneath that forms as the pudding bakes

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Makes: 6 servings

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Ingredients

  

For the cake

• 1/2 cup pecans (50 gms; walnuts are good too)
• 2 ripe bananas, medium sized
• 1/3 cup milk, at room temperature (80 ml)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (55 gms)
• 1/3 cup soft light brown sugar (70 gms)
• 1 egg, at room temperature (I haven't tried an eggless version)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 gms)
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter

For the sauce

• 1/3 cup soft brown sugar, light or dark (70 gms; see notes)
• 2 tbsps dark rum, optional
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 and 1/4 cups boiling hot water (300 ml)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 175 C. Spread the pecans out on an un-greased baking tray and bake for 5 minutes until fragrant. Set aside to cool a bit then chop them coarsely or break into pieces.
• Keep the oven preheated at 175 C. Grease an 8.5x6.5 inch rectangular baking dish with sides at least 2 inches high.
• In a mixing bowl, mash one banana well, then whisk in the milk, melted butter and sugar till combined. Add the egg and vanilla and whisk again.
• Sift in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt, if using. Add the toasted pecans, saving a couple of tablespoons for topping the pudding. Fold with a spatula to combine into a thick, smooth batter.
• Spread the batter evenly into the prepared dish. Slice the second banana and place the pieces on top of the batter, followed by the reserved pecans.
• Make the sauce by combining the sugar, rum and honey in a small bowl, then gradually pour in the hot water, whisking as you go till the sugar as dissolved.
• Place the baking dish on a baking tray, then pour this liquid slowly all over the surface of the batter. It will come right to the rim of the dish, that's ok. (see photos below)
• Carefully place the tray in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. You will see or hear the sauce bubbling around the sides as well.
• Let the pudding stand for 10 to 15 minutes to let the sauce below thicken (this is because of the higher water to sugar proportion). The surface of the pudding will rise as it bakes and fall slightly as it cools.
• Serve while still warm and the sauce is gooey! Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and enjoy 🙂 Best eaten fresh, but can be stored in the fridge for 3 to 4 days and reheated as needed. The sauce will be much thicker once refrigerated. Happy baking!

Notes

*The sauce can be thickened further by adding 1 tsp cornflour if you prefer, since it will be a little watery when the pudding is just out of the oven. However, it thickens on its own as the pudding cools, so I didn't find the cornstarch necessary and there's a chance it becomes more gluggy that way. More sugar will help thicken the sauce faster too and give it a deeper colour but I felt the pudding was sweet enough as is.

*Adapted from BBC Good Food