This easy-to-serve form of sticky date pudding is one of my all-time favourites, served warm and drizzled with sweet toffee sauce.
Makes one loaf (around 8 slices)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
For the loaf:
200g dates, pitted, roughly chopped
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
80g unsalted butter
1 cup of loosely packed soft brown sugar
2 eggs
180g self raising flour
For the sauce:
2/3 cup loosely packed soft brown sugar
200ml single cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
40g butter
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a loaf tin with baking paper.
Combine the dates, bicarbonate of soda and 200ml of hot water in a large bowl. Set aside.
Using electric beaters, cream the butter and sugar until it is smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Sift the flour in, gently combining it with the mixture.
Pop your date mixture into a blender and blend on high until it is the consistency of puree.
Add the dates to your bowl of batter and gently mix in.
Scrape this into the loaf tin pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave it in the tin while you make the sauce.
Add all of the sauce ingredients to a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring it to the boil, stirring. Turn the heat down to a simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens.
Turn out the date loaf and cut it into slices. Drizzle with sauce and serve - cream, yoghurt or ice cream are optional additions. This can also be frozen in slices and reheated in the microwave, losing none of the flavour.
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