In April 2020, many people in the UK and USA who were in quarantine or lockdown because of the Coronavirus pandemic, and thus at home for more time than usual, took to baking banana bread. Not only was it a way of using up old bananas, but also it was a way of keeping busy during a troubling time.

The h2g2 Guide contains a variety of comforting recipes containing bananas. There is the basic banana bread recipe, Banana and Walnut Bread, Spiced Banana Muffins and even a recipe for a banana toastie.

While these are all delicious in their own right¹, you might find that the banana bread has gone a bit dry, or you might just want something different after a few days of eating banana bread on its own. Here's a recipe that you can try.

Ingredients

• A bunch of slices of Banana Bread
• 3½ big Bananas

• 1 Cup Heavy Cream or Double Cream
• ½ Cup Sugar
• 2 Cups Milk
• 3 large Egg Yolks
• 1 large Egg
• 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1½ tablespoons Vanilla Extract
• A pinch of Salt

• 4 tablespoons Butter
• 4 tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 3 tablespoons Lemon Juice
• ¾ Cup Rum
• ½ Cup Water

Method

First off, grease a large baking pan (or two, if you want to make twice as much pudding in one go and save time on washing up later), using either lard, butter, or one of those sprays. Please make sure that this is a large pan, as the whole amount of pudding must fit into it.

Now that the pan is taken care of, get a large bowl and mix the milk, sugar and cream together; add
the eggs slowly, one at a time, making sure they are properly mixed in. Add in the nutmeg, a dash of salt
(this is totally unnecessary if you're not a salt person), and add the vanilla (while the recipe calls for a measly 1½ tablespoons of vanilla, go with your instincts! If you're like this Researcher, and you are rather fond of vanilla (the real stuff, not the fake vanilla extract), just pour the stuff in until you can smell it over the nutmeg).

Get some slices of banana bread and plop them in the bottom of the greased pan so that the bottom of the pan is covered completely. Now throw some sliced banana on top of that (either cut lengthways or into rounds). With that done, pour the pudding mix on top. You can then make another layer, or two, or three, or however many you think is fitting for the size of the pan, but leave at least one slice aside - as in put it to the side.

When you have finished building the layers, tear up the remaining slice(s) of banana bread and scatter the pieces on the top of the pudding.
Now, leave it to set for 30 minutes, either on the counter or in the fridge (if you have somewhere you need
to go).

Set the oven to 350°F (175°C) for 50-65 minutes- until the top is a nice golden brown. This dish needs to cool,
so set it aside while you make the delicious sauce to serve over it.

Melt the butter in a small pan and add in the sugar, rum, lemon juice, and water. Bring it slowly to a boil (be sure not to burn yourself on the heated sugar - you will indeed be very sorry if you do) and then reduce the heat slowly. The sauce should thicken to a drizzling consistency.

The sauce can be served cold or warm, on top of or to the side of the pudding. To make this dessert even better, you can make some fresh whipped cream and dollop it on top!

This is a simple and delicious dessert which can be enjoyed all year round.