Sticky date pudding

TIME1 hour MAKES15 slices of cake and 500ml of butterscotch sauce PORTION
0.5x 1x 2x 3x

I absolutely love butterscotch sauce, and sticky date pudding (as we call it in Australia, sticky toffee pudding elsewhere) is a great excuse to have butterscotch sauce and ice cream.

INGREDIENTS

Cake batter

  • 250g pitted dates (roughly chopped)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 250ml boiling water
  • 50g dark brown sugar
  • 80g unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • 2 eggs (room temperature)
  • 165g flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • Salt

Butterscotch sauce

  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 200g dark brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp (15g) golden syrup (optional)
  • 350ml heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste
  • Salt

STEPS

Cake batter

  1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Grease and line a 23cm square baking tray with baking paper, ensuring there is overhang.

  2. Sprinkle 1 tsp of baking soda on the pitted dates, and add the boiling water. Leave for 10 minutes, and then mash the dates with a fork or potato masher until it has a thick, viscous consistency.

  3. Cream the butter and the dark brown sugar together. You can whisk by hand, use electric beaters, or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Note that if the egg or butter is too cold, the mixture might split — this is fine, it will come together again when you add the dry ingredients.

  4. Add the flour and the baking powder, and whisk/beat gently until just combined. Add the date mixture, and fold with a spatula until combined and homogeneous.

  5. Pour into the baking tray, and bake until a cake tester comes out clean — about 30 minutes.

Butterscotch sauce

  1. As the cake bakes, make the butterscotch sauce. Mix the butter, brown sugar, golden syrup, and heavy cream in a small saucepan. Add a good pinch of salt. Place the pot on medium-high heat, and stir occasionally.

  2. Once the butter has melted, bring the pot up to a simmer for about 2 minutes, until it has thickened slightly and coats the back of a spoon.

  3. Remove from the heat, and stir in 1 tsp vanilla paste.

  4. Once the cake is ready, immediately poke holes all over the cake. Pour approximately a quarter of the warm butterscotch sauce all over the cake, allowing it to permeate and soak in (about 10 minutes).

Serving

  1. Cut pieces and serve warm, with vanilla ice cream and extra butterscotch sauce.

NOTES

  • Sticky date pudding reheats wonderfully in the microwave as it is so moist. Simply cut into serving sizes and microwave until warm, and serve alongside the warmed-up butterscotch sauce and ice cream.