Caramelized banana bread and butter pudding

This is another recipe that I've slightly modified from the Gilbert Scott cookbook.  So far, everything has been divine and this is no exception.  As the cookbook says, a combination of brioche, custard and banana is irresistable.  It must be, because I don't like bananas, but this is really good!  When you choose the bananas, the riper they are the better they taste, but I found left over black ones taste good but were nigh on impossible to slice.  Also, don't bother making the brioche, it isn't worth it.  I use Tesco finest, it's too big at 400g so if you can get smaller 2-300g that will do but 400g seems to be the "standard" size.  Slice it and freeze the rest for breakfast, or make two at a time :)

Ingredients
120g golden syrup plus extra for drizzling
60ml brandy
3 ripe bananas
unsalted butter for greasing
400g brioche loafcut into 1cm slices
clotted cream to serve

Custard
4 free-range eggs
300ml double cream
300ml whole fat milk
60ml brandy

Method
Make the custard first by beating the eggs until they are smooth, then add the cream, milk and brandy.  Pass the whole lot through a fine sieve and set aside for later.

Preheat the oven to 150°C, then using one of the silicone liners that are widely available, grease the inside generously with butter and then line a 900g loaf tin with it.  Place two of the slices of brioche in the bottom of the tin so that they are tight with no gaps, then pour in enough custard to cover them slightly.  You may need to add more if the bread soaks all the custard up, that's fine.

Next, heat the golden syrup in a large frying pan until it boils well, then add the brandy and stir well and reduce the heat slightly to medium/hot.  Peel and slice the bananas lengthways then place them in the hot caramel.  Check after a few minutes to see if they are well browned - this does take some time so be patient.  Once one side is well browned, turn them over and do the other side in the same way.  Turn the heat off and put the pan on a cold part of the hob while you prepare the rest of the pudding.

Place a single layer of the bananas on top of the brioche you've already prepared covering as much of the layer as possible.  Now add another layer of brioche and follow that with more custard, again covering the bread.  Once that's been absorbed, place the rest of the bananas on the brioche and repeat the process until you've reached the top of the pan.  I find this takes 3 layers of bread and two of bananas, but make sure you finish with a layer of brioche.

Once the last lot of custard has soaked in (you may have a little left over), place it in the oven nad bake for 30-35 minutes until the pudding is just set.

To serve, slice it across and plate it, drizzle with golden syrup and put it in the microwave on high for 2 minutes to heat through and serve with a dollop of clotted cream.  Yum :)