Sticky Toffee Banana Bread Pudding (Vegan Gluten-Free)
This Sticky Toffee Banana Bread Pudding is a cross between a banana bread and a sticky toffee pudding and is moreish, moist and tender topped with a quick homemade caramel and golden caramelised bananas.
The first banana bread of 2023 is here and it’s a very delicious recipe. I was inspired after seeing quite a few sticky toffee puddings over the holiday break and thought it would be amazing to combine this much-loved dessert with my beloved banana bread – and the results are pretty amazing. This cake-bread-pudding is delicious as an afternoon tea slice with tea, or served with custard or ice cream as a wholesome and vegan dessert.
Why will I love this pudding?
This dessert pudding cake is amazing, it is:
- Wholesome, dense, fruity and sticky sweet
- Fugdy, moreish and delicious
- Banana-y and packed with medjool dates
- Topped with a homemade sticky caramel sauce (1-minute!)
- Made with good-for-you ingredients
- Naturally vegan and easily gluten-free and nut-free
- Spread with a yoghurt based protein frosting
- Decorated with gooey caramelised bananas
- Great to make ahead of time
- A real showstopper crowd-pleasing dessert
- Quick and easy to make
If you already love the sound of this bake then skip ahead to the recipe card below. Or, first let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.
What ingredients do I need?
There are a few ingredients we need for this cake:
- Medjool dates: these are the best kind as they are soft, sticky and sweet. If your dates are slightly drier, do not worry as we soak them in boiling water first.
- Bananas: one ripe banana for the banana cake and then two less-ripe bananas for slicing and baking on top of the cake are needed. Also one extra banana for making the gooey caramelised banana on top. In total you’ll need 4 bananas (one really soft and ripe and the other three regular ripeness).
- Thick coconut yoghurt: or other plant-based, thick and creamy yoghurt. It is important that the yoghurt is thick for the best batter.
- Plant-based milk: any milk is great here like oat, soya, coconut (from the carton) or rice.
- Coconut sugar: or you can use caster or golden caster sugar.
- Apple cider vinegar: or lemon juice to react with the milk and curdle to form a buttermilk. this helps to bind the batter in place of eggs.
- Plain or GF plain flour: if using a gluten-free flour make sure it’s a blend that contains xanthan gum to help bind the mix. You could also try wholemeal or spelt flour, too, for other gluten-containing flour options.
- Vegan protein powder: I just love using a white chocolate or a caramel-flavoured protein from Macromike for this cake but also vanilla is delicious. My code AMB-AMY saves you 10% off everything online.
- Baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt: for rise and flavour.
- Chocolate chips: because everything is better with chocolate chips. Also I add some grated chocolate on top.
- Coconut oil: this is for the caramelised bananas and also for the caramel sauce. in either case, I don’t recommend swapping this.
- Maple syrup: also for both the bananas and the caramel sauce. You can swap this for agave syrup or vegan honey, if you like.
- Cashew butter: this is my favourite nut butter to use for this caramel as it’s naturally sweet and creamy. But you can also use almond or peanut butter or try tahini or sunflower seed butter for a nut-free option.
How do make this?
This cake comes together in a few steps:
- Soak and blend the dates with the banana: until smooth.
- Whisk all the wet ingredients together: to a smooth mix.
- Sift in the dry ingredients: and whisk to a thick, smooth batter.
- Fold in the chocolate chips: and pour into a round cake tin.
- Place the banana slices on top: and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 1 hour or until risen, golden and baked through: an inserted skewer will come out clean. Allow to cool fully.
- Make the caramelised bananas: by frying off the banana slices with coconut oil and syrup.
- Whisk together the frosting ingredients: till smooth.
- Stir together the caramel ingredients: till silky smooth.
- Spread the cake with the yoghurt frosting: and top with the caramelised bananas.
- Pour over the caramel sauce: and add some chocolate shavings (I also added some redcurrants for a pop of colour).
- Slice and serve: on its own or with custard or ice cream.
Is this gluten-free and nut-free?
Yes, this cake is easily gluten-free if you use your favourite 1:1 gluten-free flour for baking with and to make this nut-free, swap the cashew butter in the caramel sauce for tahini or sunflower seed butter also check that your yoghurt, milk, protein powder and chocolate do not contain nuts.
How long will this last?
This cake will keep for 3-5 days in a sealed container in the fridge or you can freeze the unfrosted pudding for up to 1 month, wrapped well, and allow to defrost before decorating and serving.
What other banana bread and dessert recipes can I make?
If you are looking for more sweets to try, how about my:
- Vegan Chocolate Orange Banana Bread
- Vegan Black Forest Cake (Gateau)
- Chocolate Hazelnut Cinnamon Rolls
- Cinnamon Struesel Banana Bread
- Cherry Bakewell Banana Bread
Sticky Toffee Banana Bread Pudding
This Sticky Toffee Banana Bread Pudding is a cross between a banana bread and a sticky toffee pudding and is moreish, moist and tender topped with a quick homemade caramel and sticky caramelised bananas.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 180g medjool dates (pitted weight)
- 100g mashed banana (1 ripe banana)
- 120g thick coconut yoghurt
- 100ml plant-based milk
- 65g coconut or caster sugar, plus extra
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 175g plain or GF plain flour
- 30g vegan caramel, vanilla or white chocolate protein powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 50g chocolate chips
- 2 bananas, sliced lengthways
For the Caramelised Bananas:
- 2 firm bananas
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp maple syrup
For the Frosting:
- 150g thick coconut yoghurt
- 30g vegan caramel, vanilla or white chocolate protein powder
For the Caramel Sauce:
- 60g cashew butter (or tahini)
- 1 ½ tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180ºC and line and grease an 8-inch (20-cm) round cake tin with parchment paper.
- Prepare the dates: add the pitted dates to a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 10 minutes to plump up.
- Make the wet mixture: drain the dates and add them to a blender with the banana and blend till smooth. Pour this mix into a large mixing bowl and whisk in the yoghurt, sugar, milk and apple cider vinegar till smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients: sift in the flour, protein powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Add the salt and whisk to a thick batter with no lumps. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- To bake: spoon the batter into the cake tin and smooth over the top. Press in the banana halves and sprinkle with some sugar (this helps them to caramelise). Bake in the middle of the oven to 1 hour, covering with foil after 45 minutes.
- To cool: remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before carefully lifting out the tin to cool fully on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, make the caramelised bananas: slice the bananas into rounds and add to a non-stick pan with the coconut oil and maple syrup. Fry off for 5-10 minutes, flipping over to make sure both sides are golden and sticky.
- Make the frosting: whisk together the ingredients till light and fluffy.
- Prepare the caramel: whisk together the ingredients till smooth with a pinch of salt.
- To decorate: spread the frosting over the cake and lay the bananas on top, saving some for the top. Now drizzle over the caramel sauce and top with any remaining bananas slices. slice and enjoy straight away.
- To store: keep any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can freeze the unfrosted loaf for up to1 month, and allow to defrost thoroughly.
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I look forward to hearing what you think of this Sticky Toffee Banana Bread Pudding so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make this, I’d love to see so please tag me, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – please say hello!
With sticky toffee banana love x
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