When you think of a classic British dessert, sticky toffee pudding will always be one of those that springs to mind. For a long time now it has always been my go to pudding after a pub lunch; Scampi and chips followed by sticky toffee pudding…stodge heaven.
The recipe is taken from an article in The Guardian entitled, ‘How to cook the prefect sticky toffee pudding’ which I thought sounded promising. I had never actually made it myself before and while I was conflicted as to whether or not to include dates. In the end I decided it was best for my first attempt to stay as true to the original recipe as possible, so dates it was.
I came to realise that one of the great things about this pudding is that you can make it in advance and then keep it in the freezer. This recipe made three ramekin sized puddings in total, with the one you see above being scoffed right away and the other two being put in the freezer for another day. I subsequently forgot that they were in there and as a result of this I had the same feeling you get when you find a fiver in the pocket of an old coat when I went to raid the kitchen in search of something sweet the other evening.
Prep Time: 50 mins
Makes: 3 ramekins
Ingredients:
For the Puds:
85g Dates, Roughly Chopped
1/2 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
150ml Boiling Water
25g Unsalted Butter, Softened
40g Caster Sugar
40g Dark Muscovado Sugar
1 Egg
85g Plain Flour
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
For the Sauce:
60g Unsalted Butter
35g Caster Sugar
20g Dark Muscovado Sugar
70ml Double Cream
Method:
1.Preheat oven to 180°C/ 350 F/ Gas Mark 4.
2. To make the sauce, put all the ingredients into a pan and heat slowly until the butter has melted, then turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Boil for about 4 minutes, until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pour half the sauce into the base of the ramekins and then put them in the freezer to set while you make the pudding mix.
3. To make the puddings, Put the dates and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Leave to soften while you prepare the rest of the pudding.
4. Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy, and then beat in the egg, flour and baking powder until well combined.
5. Now add the dates and their soaking water and mix well.
6. Take the ramekins out of the freezer and fill with the pudding mix.
7. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes and once removed, pour the other half of the toffee sauce on to the top of the hot puddings.
Serve with custard or ice cream.
Crumble and Crunch 