I have this obsession with sticky toffee pudding it’s a very traditional dessert and is something I always look out for when eating out in a pub. I know it’s the ultimate fatty dessert but it’s just soooooooooo nice I suppose it’s ok to have it once in a while so I just went for it.
There is a story behind this particular recipe it was kindly given to me by the cafe owner whilst visiting Wales. I’m not sure of the name or where it was in Wales but It was a lovely place, had a really nice atmosphere and the food loved amazing as well. My Uncle had brought me this scrumptious cake which was really nice of him but being nice of me (but maybe I really shouldn’t have) I let everyone else try it as well. This was sooooo yummy and everyone else enjoyed it as well but by the end of it there wasn’t much left for me to try! lololol O well it’s nice sharing :).
When I made this which I didn’t realise last time I ate it, I thought this represented more of cake with toffee sauce then an actual pudding, the texture wasn’t the same as a pudding, it was still really nice but without the sauce it’s just a normal cake, the sauce definitely makes this dessert. I felt there wasn’t enough sauce for the cake so you will have to make double amount of sauce to make it adequate for the amount of cake, well I like a lot of sauce but if you don’t then keep it as a single amount.
I still would make this cake again but it’s made me realise that I really want to try a recipe for an actual pudding the traditional way which is steamed instead of making it in the oven.
- 200g – dried dates, stoned and chopped into small cubes
- 250ml – black tea (not too strong)
- ½ tsp – bicarbonate of soda
- 85g – unsalted butter , softened
- 175g – self-raising flour
- 1 tsp – mixed spice (I used 1/2 tsp extra)
- 175g – golden caster sugar
- 2 – eggs, beaten
- Toffee sauce
- 100g – light muscovado sugar
- 100g – unsalted butter
- 142ml – carton double cream (I brought 150 ml double cream and used all of that)
- 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, line a 8×8″ square tin.
- 2. Put the dates and one teabag in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook for 3-4 minutes to soften the dates. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda.
- 3. Beat the butter and caster sugar together with electric beaters until pale and creamy, (this can take a long time 5-10 mins) then beat in the egg, flour and mixed spice. Fold in the date mixture and pour into the tin. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is just firm to touch.
- 4. Meanwhile, make the sauce by putting the sugar, butter and cream in a pan over a low heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Cook until the sauce is a lovely toffee colour and is quite thick. Cut the pudding into squares and serve with the warm sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
