Moist & flavourful Sticky Banana Date Pudding with a spoon-licking, boozy, rum caramel sauce. Rich, delicious & truly indulgent! Made individually, these little puddings are baked in the oven & are no more difficult to make than muffins. Plus they can be made in advance & freeze perfectly. Great for making ahead!
I have been wanting to make a truly indulgent dessert for ages and I finally got to it just in time for Father's Day. May I present to you this gorgeous Sticky Banana Date Pudding with Rum Caramel?
I have been wanting to make some kind of caramel-ly sponge pudding ever since I made my Five minute Caramel Sauce back in January. That caramel sauce is just awesome and is so versatile. I even used it in my Baked Chocolate Caramel Popcorn recipe.
I used the caramel recipe as a base for this one, just adapting it slightly to make the flavours work better with the Banana Date Pudding.
I originally created and tested these little sponge puddings without the booze but decided to put a bit of a 'Dad spin' on them by anointing the caramel sauce with rum when I remade them last week. We were blown away with the results. The rum just works brilliantly with the banana and the caramel and it's nearly Father's Day. What Dad can resist a boozy pud?
Think soft, moist banana date sponge pudding, crunchy walnuts (feel free to omit if you don't eat nuts), chewy dates, slightly crusty bottoms and rich, dark, sweet rum infused caramel. The only way it can get any better is with a big dollop of vanilla ice-cream or glug of vegan custard.
Please wipe that drool from your chin........
You don't have to be a Dad to eat these. I will turn a blind eye if you decide to indulge regardless. I mean who could blame you? And, if you are unfortunate enough to have to share with any kiddos (you could always hide them until after dark to avoid sharing) or you can't handle the booze, then feel free to omit the rum and just use water instead to make them alcohol free.
Each little Sticky Banana Date Pudding freezes brilliantly. Just keep them in their tins and wrap them well in cling wrap or pop into a freezer bag or freezable sealed container. When you want to eat them you can bake them straight from the freezer. They take about 30 minutes on 350°F to cook through. If they aren't frozen they only take about 15 minutes to heat through. The rum caramel sauce will keep for up to 10 days in a sealed container in the fridge. Warm it gently prior to serving. I haven't actually tried freezing it as it never lasts long enough to try, but I am sure it would be ok too.
If you happen to have any rum caramel sauce leftover (I personally never have that problem), then it would be amazing with my Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes or my Vegan Pancakes for One, or just drizzled over ice-cream or baked bananas. It would probably also be great on oatmeal....boozy oatmeal....now there's a thought......
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you've tried it) and take a picture and tag it #avirtualvegan on Instagram. I would love to see how your puddings turn out!
Mel x
Recipe
Sticky Banana Date Pudding with Rum Caramel
Author:Ingredients
For the puddings
- 2 medium bananas , mashed with a fork
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil (measured after melting)
- 1 tablespoon unsulphured or blackstrap molasses (I like the one from Wholesome Sweeteners)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 250mls / 1 cup plus 2 teaspoons unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 75g / ½ cup g coconut sugar , (any granulated sugar will work as a sub but it's a bit heavier so half a cup will be about 100g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 270g / 2 cups spelt flour (I have not tested these puddings with any other flour)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 10 medjool dates , stoned and chopped finely, (dried dates can be subbed but soak them in hot water for 15 mins first)
- 60g / ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
For the rum caramel
- 150g / 1 cup coconut sugar
- 10 tablespoons of rum (I used Kraken Black Spiced Rum but any dark rum will be fine - 10 tablespoons is about 2 miniature bottles. If you want to make this pudding alcohol free then use water instead)
- 6 tablespoons cashew butter (almond butter would probably work too)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 to 8 tablespoons water
- More walnuts for sprinkling (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Grease 8 capacity of each about 175mls. (or an 8 x 8 pan - see recipe notes)
- Line the bottom of each one with a circle of parchment paper.
- In a large bowl add all of the dry ingredients - (sugar, cinnamon, salt, flour, baking powder and baking soda).
- In a jug or another bowl, mix all of the wet ingredients together well - (mashed banana, liquid coconut oil, molasses, vanilla and milk).
- Pour the wet into the dry and mix well but don't over mix. Just enough to get everything combined enough that you can't see any dry flour.
- Pour in the walnuts and dates and stir well again.
- Spoon the mixture into the 8 prepared tins. Level the tops, place on a baking sheet and bake for 25 - 30 mins. When done they start coming away from the sides a bit and the sponge on top will bounce back if you poke it with a finger. The tooth pick test isn't too reliable because of the banana bits in it.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately or leave to cool in their tins.
For the rum caramel
- Add the coconut sugar and the rum to a small pan.
- Heat over a medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until the sugar is completely melted and both are combined. It only takes a minute or two. As soon as it starts bubbling remove from the heat.
- Stir in the cashew butter and the salt and 4 tablespoons of the water.
- Put back over a low heat and stir well until combined. The light coloured flecks will lessen as you stir. Don't let it boil as it can burn really easily. Remove from the heat if it gets too hot,
- Check the consistency. I used a total of 8 tablespoons of water in mine but it will vary depending on how liquidy your cashew butter is. Just add enough to make it a thickish, very pourable caramel consistency.
- It is ready in a few minutes, as soon as it is combined well.
- Serve the puddings straight from the oven with a drizzle of warm rum caramel sauce, a sprinkle of chopped walnuts and a dollop of ice-cream or some coconut whipped cream.
NOTES
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Barbara J says
Can you use peanut butter Instead of almonds or cashew butter?
A Virtual Vegan says
Technically you could. It will work just the same but the flavour of the peanut butter will come through in the caramel. Cashew and almond butter are more subtle. It wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing though!
Barbara J says
Thanks. Making it today
Moya says
This looks great! I love that they can be frozen after baking but can they be reheated in the microwave ?
A Virtual Vegan says
They could but they are way better when heated in the oven because they get delicious little crusty bits on them. In the microwave they would be much softer. I would defrost them first before microwaving and be sure to turn them out of the metal containers. Microwvae in 30 second increments to avoid overcooking, just until they feel hot. It won't take long. probably only 1 minute, maybe a little longer. Heat the sauce separately and be really carefully as it doesn't take long and bubbles up and over in seconds if you overdo ... I know from past experience!
kimmythevegan says
Wow! My dad in law would have loved this for father's day! I'll have to make it for him next time I see him.
What a beautiful cake.