BANANA AND DULCE DE LECHE CRUMBLE

SERVES 4 INGREDIENTS

80g plain (all-purpose) flour (or use wholemeal or spelt)

40g light brown soft or demerara sugar

Pinch of salt

100g cold unsalted butter, diced

30g rolled oats

4 large ripe bananas, peeled and thickly sliced

120g dulce de leche

30g roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped (optional) Double (heavy) cream, ice cream or crème fraîche, to serve

Possibly lurking around the same territory as Elvis’s famous banana, bacon and peanut butter sandwiches, this is a pudding to eat on a cold day; a rib-tickler and by no means one for those who don’t have a sweet tooth. It is so easy to put together and I love how the banana slumps into sweet obliteration as it cooks with all the dulce de leche – a magical caramel sauce of sweetened condensed milk. You could use wholemeal or spelt flour in lieu of the plain white, if you want to salvage any sense of nutritional credibility.

METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/ gas mark 4.

2 Make the crumble topping. Combine the flour, sugar, pinch of salt and butter in a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then stir in the oats. Alternatively, pulse the mixture in a food processor until just combined.

3 In an ovenproof dish, combine the sliced bananas, dulce de leche, and the nuts (if using). Scatter the mix with the crumble topping, then sprinkle over a few drops of water.

4 Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crumble is golden brown and the mixture beneath is bubbling at the sides. Remove from the oven and serve warm.