Ingredients

• 150ml/5fl oz dark rum
• 1 vanilla pod
• split in half and the seeds scraped out
• 250g/9oz chopped dates
• 125g/4½oz butter
• softened
• plus extra for greasing
• 125g/4½oz soft dark brown sugar
• 3 free-range eggs
• 150g/5½oz plain flour
• plus extra for dusting
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 bananas
• peeled and thinly sliced
• demerara sugar
• for dusting
• 175g/6oz demerara sugar
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tbsp black treacle
• 170g/5¾oz butter
• 500ml/18fl oz double cream
• pinch salt

Directions

• In a pan bring the rum
• 250ml/9fl oz water and the vanilla seeds to the boil. Place the dates in a bowl
• pour the liquid over the dates and leave to soak for an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease and flour 6-8 individual moulds or loaf tins (depending on how many people you are serving).
• Cream the butter and the soft dark brown sugar with an electric hand-whisk in a bowl. Add the eggs one at a time
• beating between each addition. Sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda. Mix and then fold in the date and rum mixture.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tins and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes
• or until just firm to the touch. Once cooked
• remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
• For the toffee sauce
• put the sugar
• syrup
• treacle and butter into a pan and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and cook
• without stirring
• until all the sugar crystals have dissolved and you have a deep-brown caramel. Meanwhile
• gently warm the cream in a saucepan. Remove the caramel from the heat and carefully add one-third of the cream. Once the bubbling has subsided
• whisk in the remaining cream. Add a pinch of salt and pass through a fine sieve. Set aside until needed.
• Fan the banana slices into circles on top of the cooked puddings. Dust with demerara sugar and caramelise with a cooks’ blowtorch (alternatively place the puddings under a very hot grill). Set aside for a few minutes to allow the sugar to cool and set
• then serve with the toffee sauce.