Banana and Cinnamon Sponge...

....with Caramel Sauce. This recipe came from a chef whom I used to work for back when I lived in Scotland. His name was Bill Costley and I liken him to an older version of Gordon Ramsay, yes he could get that crazy in the kitchen and bring servers to tears but at the end of service he would always make it be known that all's well that ends well and nothing was personal.

 Working in a busy kitchen is stressful and takes a very unique type of person, almost a masochist but at the end of the day a great deal of satisfaction can be achieved knowing that you can be in control of peoples feelings and emotions while they dine on the very food you made. Picture a scene at a party and you mentioned you were a scientist, now all respect to the scientists out there but they seem to work in a very controlled environment which no one else really knows about or understands so it's hard to relate to that field. On the other hand if you mentioned you were a chef, instantly everyone wants to talk about food and their favorite recipes from grandma. Food always brings people together, I swear the Middle East would be a quieter place if they all just sat down and shared some falafel.

I went with this recipe as I had a banana that was blacker than the ace of spades and was tired of turning them into banana bread or muffins. I peeled the fruit and as you would expect it was squishy and brown but the flavor was intense. I made the caramel sauce by boiling the sugar and water for what seemed like forever but as soon as you see it turn golden don't walk away as it will darken really fast. Even when you do take it off the heat it will still become deeper in color due to the heat still in it. Leave it for 2 minutes and then carefully whisk in the cream. If it stiffens like toffee just put it back on the heat and whisk till smooth.

After the sponges came out of the molds I poured some banana rum over them to moisten the cake.This rum is very special and goes by the name, Ma Doudou which is Creole for friendly. I was fortunate enough to be given this bottle as a gift from my sister in law. It is unique to the island of St Maarten and can be a made with many diffrent fruits. They use already distilled rum mixed with a secret syrup and the fruit is added for extra flavor, if you look closely at my picture you can see the banana floating in the rum. It definitely enhanced this dessert.

Here's the recipe:

4oz butter

4oz sugar

Cream together until fluffy

2 eggs

Add to the creamed mix and beat till smooth

4.5oz self raising flour

1.5tsp cinnamon

Add to the above mix and mix for 2 minutes

1 large banana

Add and mix till smooth

Butter and flour some small pudding molds, drop mix into the mold and leave about 1inch from the top.

Cover with a small piece of foil and put them in a pot, filled with hot water. Make sure the water only comes  about half way up the mold. Cover and simmer the water, steaming for about 20-25 minutes.

For the sauce:

300ml of water

7oz sugar

3/4 cup of heavy cream

Follow the instructions above.

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