Whether you call it sticky toffee or sticky date pudding, if it's on the menu the answer is always yes to dessert and we just can't resist.

This delicious version is light and fluffy with a beautiful butterscotch sauce. It's a great pudding option for your BBQ guests as it can all be prepared prior to their arrival and just heated up to serve. Top with ice cream rather than cream to make it work for the summer months. 

Ingredients

Pudding

• 1 cup water
• 200g fresh dates, pitted, chopped
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 60g butter or margarine, softened
• 165g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 2 eggs
• 225g  self-raising flour, sifted
• Thick cream or ice cream to serve

Sauce

• 300mls thickened cream
• 300g  brown sugar
• 125g butter

Method

Pudding

• Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a square cake pan with melted butter then line the base with baking paper. 
• Place the water and dates in a saucepan, bring to boil and then remove from the heat. Stir in your bicarbonate of soda and allow to cool.
• Using a hand mixer, beat your butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add in your eggs and beat to combine.
• Add your flour into the wet mix and fold until just combined.
• Add in your date mixture and stir until the mixture is fully combined. 
• Pour into the cake tin and bake for 35-45 minutes depending on your oven.

Sauce

• Place the cream and brown sugar in a saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
• Remove from the stove and stir in the chopped up butter cubes until fully melted and the sauce is smooth.

 

Serve the pudding warm straight from the oven or pre prepare and heat it up with a big scoop of your favourite ice cream.