Bananas & Pancakes

Bananas and pancakes is a thrifty British pub-style dessert that turns leftover pancakes into a baked pudding with very little effort. The pancakes themselves use lager beer instead of milk, an old British trick that produces a thinner, crispier crepe-like pancake with a faintly malty undertone that pairs beautifully with the bananas and citrus syrup that follows.

Quartered bananas get laid cut-side-down over folded pancakes in a flan dish, then a quick stovetop syrup of orange juice, molasses, lemon juice, and Calvados (or Grand Marnier) gets boiled briefly until syrupy and poured over the top. The whole thing bakes for 20 to 30 minutes until the bananas are caramelized and the syrup has soaked into the pancakes.

The alcohol choice matters more than the brand. Calvados is the classic choice with apple-brandy depth that complements the molasses. Grand Marnier or Cointreau leans into the orange juice and gives a brighter citrus profile. Pick one based on whether you want warmth or brightness.

Molasses is the unexpected sweetener here, and it’s what takes this from “crepe with bananas” to something that tastes like sticky toffee pudding. Don’t sub honey or maple syrup; they’re too one-dimensional.

Pro Tips

• Make the pancake batter ahead and let it rest for 30 minutes. Beer batters benefit from settling.
• Keep pancakes thin. Thick ones soak up too much syrup and get gummy.
• Boil the syrup until it just starts to coat a spoon, no longer. Past that and it caramelizes into hard candy.
• Serve hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for proper pudding presentation.

Variations

• Sub dark rum for the Calvados and reduce orange juice for a banana-rum version.
• Add a sprinkle of dark chocolate shavings before serving for richness.
• Use blood orange juice for a deeper red syrup and more aromatic citrus.