Banoffee Dutch Baby

An American treat, the Dutch baby is a cross between a sweet Yorkshire pudding and a thick pancake. We’ve filled ours with an indulgent, classic combination of bananas and toffee.

Hands-on time 15min, plus resting. Cooking time about 25min. Serves 4-6

◆ 100g (3½oz) plain flour ◆ 25g (1oz) light brown soft sugar ◆ 3 large eggs, plus 1 large egg white ◆ 150ml (5fl oz) semi-skimmed milk ◆ 1tsp vanilla extract

◆ 15g (½oz) unsalted butter for the filling ◆ 50g (2oz) pecans, roughly chopped ◆ 175g (6oz) light brown soft sugar ◆ 75ml (3fl oz) double cream ◆ 75g (3oz) unsalted butter ◆ 3 ripe bananas, sliced ◆ Vanilla ice cream, optional, to serve

1 Sift the flour into a medium bowl, whisk in the sugar and a pinch of salt. In a large jug whisk together eggs, egg white, milk and vanilla extract. Make a well in the flour mixture and gradually whisk in the wet ingredients until smooth. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to rest for 45min.

2 Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan) mark 7, and put an ovenproof sauté or deep frying pan (or fixed-base, 23cm/9in diameter cake tin) into oven to heat up, about 10min.

3 Carefully add the butter to the pan and swirl to coat the bottom and sides. Immediately pour in the batter and return the pan to the oven. Bake for 20-25min until puffed and golden (don’t worry if it puffs up in the middle – it will sink once out of the oven).

4 While the pancake is cooking, make the filling. Firstly, toast the pecans in a dry frying pan over medium heat until fragrant. Tip into a bowl and set aside, then return the pan to the heat.

5 To make the caramel, add 125g (4oz) sugar and 2tbsp water to the pan. Heat until the sugar has dissolved (but is not simmering), then turn up the heat and boil for about 5min, until it turns an amber colour. Stir in the cream and 25g (1oz) butter. Pour into a jug and set aside. Return the pan to the heat and melt the remaining butter and sugar, heating until combined. Add the sliced bananas, turn up the heat and fry for 3-5min until bananas are caramelised, turning once.

6 Remove the pancake from the oven, fill with the caramelised bananas, drizzle over some of the caramel sauce and scatter over the toasted pecans. Serve with ice cream and a drizzle of extra caramel sauce, if you like.

PER SERVING (for 6, without ice cream) 528 cals, 9g protein, 28g fat (14g saturates), 59g carbs (44g total sugars), 2g fibre