Recipe: Paul Ainsworth’s Layered Clotted Cream and Banoffee Pancakes with Chocolate Sauce

Celebrate Pancake Day with this stack American-style stack recipe from Paul Ainsworth…

Recipe: Paul Ainsworth’s Layered Clotted Cream and Banoffee Pancakes with Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients

For the caramelised bananas

• 5 large bananas
• 200g caster sugar
• 100g unsalted butter
• 50ml dark rum

For the American-style pancakes

• 400g plain flour
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tbsp caster sugar
• 350ml milk
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 tbsp salted butter, melted, plus extra for frying

For the chocolate sauce

• 120g caster sugar
• 120g water
• 50g cocoa powder
• 125g double cream
• 1 pinch Cornish sea salt

To finish

• 300g Rodda’s Clotted cream
• 200g pecan nuts lightly roasted and chopped roughly
• Popping candy

Method

For the caramelised bananas

1. In a large pan add your sugar and start to melt over a medium heat until the sugar starts to turn a dark golden colour.
2. Turn the heat very low and add the butter and stir to incorporate, making sure you are very careful as the sugar is extremely hot!
3. Add the rum and mix well increasing the heat, to make a butterscotch caramel.
4. Remove the skins from the bananas and add them to the butterscotch caramel and turn them so they are coated all over. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool until they are at room temperature.

For the American-style pancakes

1. Sieve the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Whisk together the eggs, sugar and half the milk until smooth then pour into the flour and whisk to a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the remaining milk until smooth.
2. Whisk in the bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar then fold in the 2 tbsp of melted butter.
3. Heat a little butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and add enough batter to cover the base of the pan, when the bubbles start to appear on the surface of the batter, flip the pancake and cook for a further minute until golden.
4. Transfer to a wire rack and repeat the process using all the batter. Leave the pancakes to cool to room temperature.

For the chocolate sauce

1. Bring the water and sugar to the boil in a small saucepan then add the cream and cocoa powder and whisk well.
2. Over a medium heat cook the sauce for 2 minutes whisking occasionally.  Remove from the heat and add the salt.
3. Leave to cool to room temperature.

To build your pancake cake

1. Remove the bananas from the butterscotch and slice evenly.
2. Spread an even layer of Rodda’s Clotted Cream on each pancake on one side, leaving 1 pancake plain for the top of the cake.
3. Place the banana slices onto the clotted cream and drizzle over the butterscotch sauce.
4. Sprinkle each pancake with chopped pecan nuts and popping candy.
5. Now build the cake by stacking each finished pancake on top of each other, you can go as high as you like! Make sure you use the plain pancake last, so you have a flat top.
6. Finish the cake by pouring the chocolate sauce over the top and serve as a centrepiece to an afternoon tea party. To serve, cut a slice and enjoy!

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