Banana cake with caramel sauce

Serves 8-10 For the banana cake, you will need:

175g butter, plus extra for greasing the tin 300g caster sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 eggs 150g sour cream 2 medium-to-large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed 225g plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, to serve (optional)

For the salted caramel sauce, you will need:

50ml water 125g caster sugar 125ml cream A pinch of sea salt 1 Preheat the oven to 190°C, 375°F, Gas 5. Grease the sides of a 20cm cake tin with butter and line the base with parchment paper. 2 Beat the butter and the caster sugar until the mixture is pale and creamy. Add the vanilla extract and beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the sour cream and the mashed bananas, and mix together. Next, sift in the plain flour and the baking powder, and fold together until combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Put the cake in the oven and bake it for 55-60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in to the centre comes out clean. 3 While the cake is baking, make the caramel sauce. Add the water and the caster sugar to a saucepan and place it over a high heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved, then stop stirring and cook it for about 5-8 minutes, until the liquid is a dark-amber caramel colour. Pour the cream into the pan and whisk together — be careful, as it will bubble up. Continue to boil the mixture for a few more minutes until the sauce is frothy and has thickened, then remove the pan from the heat. Add a pinch of sea salt and set the pan aside. 4 Remove the cake from the oven and put it on a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Next, remove the cake from the cake tin, and place it on a serving plate. Serve it in slices with a drizzle of the caramel sauce, and, if you fancy, a dollop of softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.