Banana's have been somewhat of a luxury item in many households in Australia this year. With the Queensland floods, and cyclones banana crops suffered and prices for bananas went through the roof, with $15 or more per kilogram not unheard of. I even saw them at $19.99 a kilogram at several places. As much as I felt for the poor farmers who lost their crop I just couldn't purchase bananas at that price. I also wondered whether there was a bit of profiteering going on, because while the high price of bananas would lead you to assume they were rare, I also noticed that I never failed to see them for sale at supermarkets or grocers.
So I waited, and waited and waited, for the price to drop. My parents recently travelled overseas, and when they ran into some fellow Australians on holiday in Singapore they both admitted that the first thing they did was buy some bananas as they had been so expensive here in Australia. My fiance and I also did the same thing when we were overseas recently, even remarking at the ridiculously low prices of bananas, and fruit in general, in of all places the Upper East Side of New York!
Recently we've seen reports in the news that prices of bananas are falling, and while the low prices promised in the news reports haven't materialised, at least in the areas I shop. While they still weren't what I consider cheap, considering not so long ago they were avaiable for 99 cents per kilogram, it had been such a long time since we had bananas that I relented.
I've had a banana recipe I'd been wanting to try for some time so now I finally had some bananas I couldn't wait to try it out. The recipe comes from Donna Hay's beautiful Fast Fresh and Simple cookbook, the accompaniment to her fantastic tv series. I have all of Donna's books, and so far I haven't run across a bad recipe, and this Caramel Banana Pudding was no exception.
Calling this a pudding is a bit misleading to me, it's more like banana bread topped with caramel sauce, however I can't think of a better way to celebrate banans finally being more affordable than with freshly baked banana cake slathered in a creamy caramel sauce. Yum!!!
So tell me, is price a factor in your decision to purchase or not purchase fruits and vegetables? Did you still buy bananas when they were upwards of $15 a kilogram?
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 175 g of butter, at room temperature
- 175 g of brown sugar
- 110 g of caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 1 cup of mashed bananas, about 2 bananas
- 3 eggs
- 300 g of self raising flour
- ½ teaspoon of baking powder
CARAMEL SAUCE
- 1 ½ cups of single cream
- 135 g of brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius (325 farenheit) and grease a 28cm loaf tin.
- Place the pudding ingredients in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until just combined.
- Pour the mixture into the greased loaf tin and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until cooked through.
- To make the caramel sauce, place the cream and brown sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and lower to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes, or until thickened.
- Serve a slice of the pudding with a generous serving of warm caramel sauce.
Lisa H. says
awwww.... this is awesome, Jen. I am loving and enjoying 'virtually' every slice :DIts the same over the West here... Bananas were and still are so expensive that I refuse to even glance at it. It came down to $7/kg last week and nearly closing time on one Saturday, Coles halved the price... then only I bought some 😀
delicieux says
Thanks Lisa. I'd love you to join me for a slice! 😀
a spoonful of yumm says
the sauce makes it more delicious 🙂 i love bananas ....glad they are cheap in india. we buy them everyday , but if fruits and vegetables are too expensive then i'd think twice
delicieux says
Oh to have cheap bananas again. Hopefully we will get there soon so we can enjoy bananas every day too 😀
thelittleloaf says
I can't imagine not being able to get hold of bananas - I eat them practically every day in some form or another. Banana loaf is one of my favourite ways to use up older bananas, but this pudding takes it to the next level. It looks absolutely delicious and the perfect way to celebrate this gorgeous fruit 🙂
delicieux says
I love making banana loaf with older bananas too. 😀
Jesica @ Pencil Kitchen says
I can't believe you made banana bread even better!!!
delicieux says
I didn't think of it that way Jesica, but you're right, it is banana bread made better!! A bit of caramel sauce never goes astray does it? 😀
cc11 says
I love Donna Hay desserts, I have yet to make one I didn't like. I did still buy bananas, albeit 2-3 per week rather than our usual 10. It's just too great a fruit not to buy as even if it goes brown you can bake it in sweets or freeze it for smoothies, you never get any wastage.This pudding loaf looks amazing.
delicieux says
I love Donna Hay desserts too. I can always rely on her recipes if I am stuck on ideas of what to cook 😀
Trudy ~ Veggie num num says
We're lucky to have a farm store down the road that's been selling cheap locally grown bananas for most of the year and now I'm feeling a little guilty about that!! Glad to see prices are finally coming down around the place especially since that means you got to try and share this beautiful recipe!! Banana and caramel is like one of those combinations that can't be beat!
delicieux says
Wow, you are lucky to have a great store selling bananas cheaply close by. 😀
john@heneedsfood says
Great recipe and definitely worth waiting for. I was amazed, and at the same time annoyed, at how incredibly cheap the fresh fruit and veg was in New York. It's insanely cheap over there!
delicieux says
That's exactly how we felt as well John. Amazed, and then annoyed. When we first came back to Australia we kept comparing prices to what they were in New York, but we had to stop in the end as it just made us more and more frustrated. It's sad that things are so expensive here.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
So true about bananas! We saw sugar bananas for $5 a kilo and almost bought the shop out of them we were so delighted about it! This looks wonderful and caramel is my favourite partner with banana!
Irene @ H.V.R. says
We are abundant in bananas here in our country and it is cheap. I could surely maximize this recipe and make the best out of it. I can't wait to try this recipe out.
Rosa says
Soooo, luscious! That pudding is to die for.Cheers,Rosa
Christy says
Wow, to think that we have so much bananas around here and that I am not even a banana fan:pHowever, I do like banana cakes and muffins though; funny me...and your caramel pudding looks interesting!So sorry to hear about the floods in Australia, I will keep all of you in my prayers!Actually we are experiencing monsoon season here now too, it just keeps raining every day!
delicieux says
I hope you survive the monsoon season without any dramas. Good luck 😀
Nic@diningwithastud says
Im so excited that bananas have gone donw in price. At this point, the cheapest I have seen is $7.99 which compared to prefloods is still expensive but its like a bargain now haha
delicieux says
Banana's still are expensive. I really hope they come down in price soon.
aipi says
Banana is not my fruit. Wouldn't buy it even if it were 15 cents a kilo.. lol... but I do cook with them as hubs and my little one like 'em. I do agree that they are a good component in baking. Banana with caramel is perfect a perfect combo for my hubs' sweet tooth 🙂USMasala
Asmita says
This sounds and looks YUM! Banana pudding with caramel sauce. All the right ingredients to make me happy.
mash says
can we use different size tin other than loaf - if yes pls suggest size thanx
Shruti says
It was absolutely brilliant...and I don't even like bananas!
George says
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe