Banana Bread with Biscoff Crunch & Salted Caramel Sauce

INGREDIENTS

For The Crunch Topping

• 50g Dunnes Stores Caramelised Biscuits
• 25g of soft brown sugar
• 30g of plain flour
• 25g cold butter
• 1 heaped tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp sea salt

For The Batter

• 190g soft brown sugar
• 110g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 240g Dunnes Stores Baking at Home Self-Raising Flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 3 large bananas
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla bean paste
• 100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 50g Dunnes Stores Caramelised Biscuits

For My Cheat’s Caramel Sauce

• 100g caster sugar
• 70ml double cream
• Good pinch flaky sea salt
• 50g butter, diced

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan /350°F/Gas Mark 4.
2. To make the topping, put all of the crunch topping ingredients into a small food processor and blitz until you get clumpy, sandy pieces. Chill until ready to use.
3. In a large bowl, cream the sugar and the butter in a bowl with a handheld mixer until light and pale. Add in the eggs and mix through, followed by the flour and baking soda. In a separate small bowl, peel two of the bananas and mash them with the back of a fork. Mix the vanilla through the banana before adding them to the bigger bowl. Mix everything through until well combined. Fold through most of the chocolate and most of the crunch topping.
4. Place the batter into a well-greased loaf tin. Swirl through the remaining chocolate and more of the crunch topping. Slice the remaining banana in half lengthways and place both halves on top of the mixture. Sprinkle with the last of the biscuit crunch and a pinch of salt to finish. Place in an oven for approximately 50 minutes.
5. For caramel sauce, combine the sugar with 50ml of water in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat slightly and allow the mixture to simmer steadily for about 15 minutes, without stirring, until a golden caramel forms. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the cream and salt. Don’t panic when it bubbles and spits, return the pan to a low heat and the sugar crystals will re-melt. Add the butter and combine to form a smooth caramel sauce.
6. Top tip: Insert a metal skewer into the centre of the loaf, and if it comes out clean, the banana bread is ready. Remove from the loaf tin and place on a wire rack to cool.
7. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the banana bread. Enjoy with a big cuppa!