“Winter is the time for steamed puddings. There is something very comforting about them which brightens up a dull weekend. Use very ripe bananas - ones with black skins are fine - as these give the best flavour.”

Ingredients
Serves 4

Sauce:

•    25g (1 oz) brown sugar
•    25g (1 oz) butter
•    125ml single cream

Pudding:

•    115g (4 oz) soft butter
•    115g (4 oz) caster sugar
•    2 free range eggs
•    140g (5 oz) self raising flour
•    2 ripe bananas, mashed


Method

To make the sauce; place the brown sugar, butter and cream into a saucepan and bring gently to the boil, stirring until thick and smooth. Remove from the heat. Butter a 1.2 litre (2 pint) pudding basin.

Place the butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour and bananas into a basin and beat well together. Pour half the butterscotch sauce into the base of the prepared basin and carefully spoon over the pudding mixture. Cover with a disc of baking parchment and place a double thickness of foil over the top of the basin. Tie the foil on with string, leaving enough to be able to lift the pudding out of the saucepan.

Put the basin in a large saucepan and pour in boiling water to come halfway up the side, then simmer for 15 minutes. Transfer the covered saucepan, complete with water and pudding to the simmering oven.

2, 3 and 4 oven Aga: Steam for about 1½ hours in the simmering oven, until the pudding is cooked through.

Turn the pudding out onto a serving dish, gently reheat the remainder of the sauce and pour over the top.

Conventional cooking: Steam on the hob, checking occasionally to see the saucepan does not boil dry.