Double Ginger Sticky Toffee Pudding Food

DOUBLE GINGER STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING

Steps:

• Cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Thoroughly butter and flour pan, making sure to get into all curved or detailed places. Toss dates and baking soda in a small bowl to coat, then pour in 1 cup boiling water. Let mixture sit until dates are very soft, 10-15 minutes. Mash dates lightly with a fork (mixture will be thick but not smooth and homogenous).
• While dates are soaking, whisk baking powder, salt, and remaining 2 cups flour in a medium bowl.
• Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat brown sugar, fresh ginger, and remaining 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each addition before adding the next. Then alternating, add dry ingredients and date mixture in 2 additions each, starting with dry ingredients and ending with date mixture. Fold in crystallized ginger. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth surface.
• Bake cake until top is firm and springs back when gently pressed with your fingers and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35-45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Let cake cool in pan 10 minutes before turning out onto rack, then let cool another 20 minutes (cake should still be warm).
• Toffee sauce and assembly:
• Bring brown sugar, cream, butter, salt, and 2 tablespoons water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to melt butter. Cook, stirring, until mixture is thick enough to coat a spoon, 5-8 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• Poke holes all over warm cake with a toothpick. Wipe out Bundt pan; pour a third of sauce into pan. Carefully invert cake back into pan. Poke holes in bottom of cake and pour more sauce over. Let sit until cake absorbs sauce, 15-20 minutes.
• Turn cake out onto rack (it may not come out at first but will eventually release) and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Serve cake with remaining toffee sauce. If the sauce has cooled by the time you're ready to serve, gently reheat just to warm through.
• Do Ahead
• Cake can be made 1 day ahead; store tightly covered at room temperature. Cover and chill leftover sauce. Gently reheat before serving.

ULTIMATE STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING

Steps:

• Stone and chop 225g medjool dates quite small, put them in a bowl, then pour over 175ml boiling water.
• Leave for about 30 mins until cool and well-soaked, then mash a bit with a fork. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract.
• Butter and flour seven mini pudding tins (each about 200ml/7fl oz) and sit them on a baking sheet. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
• While the dates are soaking, make the puddings. Mix 175g self-raising flour and 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda together and beat the 2 eggs in a separate bowl.
• Beat 85g softened butter and 140g demerara sugar together in a large bowl for a few mins until slightly creamy (the mixture will be grainy from the sugar). Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well between additions.
• Beat in 2 tbsp black treacle then, using a large metal spoon, gently fold in one-third of the flour and bicarbonate of soda mix, then half of the 100ml milk, being careful not to overbeat. Repeat until all the flour mix and all the milk is used.
• Stir the soaked dates into the pudding batter. The mix may look a little curdled at this point and will be like a soft, thick batter.
• Spoon it evenly between the tins and bake for 20-25 mins, until risen and firm.
• Meanwhile, put the 175g light muscovado sugar and 50g butter pieces for the sauce in a medium saucepan with half the 225ml double cream.
• Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring all the time, until the sugar has completely dissolved.
• Stir in 1 tbsp black treacle, turn up the heat slightly and let the mixture bubble away for 2-3 mins until it is a rich toffee colour, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn. Take the pan off the heat and beat in the rest of the double cream.
• Remove the puddings from the oven. Leave in the tins for a few mins, then loosen them well from the sides of the tins with a small palette knife before turning them out.
• You can serve them now with the sauce drizzled over, but they'll be even stickier if left for a day or two coated in the sauce. To do this, pour about half the sauce into one or two ovenproof serving dishes.
• Sit the upturned puddings on the sauce, then pour the rest of the sauce over them. Cover with a loose tent of foil so that the sauce doesn't smudge (no need to chill).
• When ready to serve, heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Warm the puddings through, still covered, for 15-20 mins or until the sauce is bubbling. Serve them on their own, or with cream or custard.

STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, add dates, boiling water and baking soda which helps to soften the fruit. Bring the mixture to a boil then cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Halfway through cooking, stir and clean up the sides of the saucepan; cover and cook for the remaining time. Remove from the heat, add vanilla extract, cover and let it sit while prepping.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, ginger, cloves and salt; whisk well. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and process until blended. Add half flour mixture and mix until combined. Add the remaining half flour mixture and process until just blended. Add date mixture and process until well mixed, cleaning the sides of the bowl.
• Pour batter in a buttered and floured muffin pan to ¾'s full. Gently tap the pan on the counter to remove any trapped air bubbles. Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, add all the toffee sauce ingredients. Combine well and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often.
• When pudding is done, place the muffin pan on a wire rack and using a toothpick, poke holes in each muffin. Pour about 1 tablespoon of toffee sauce on top of each. If desired, when the sauce is absorbed, glaze with cream cheese icing.
• When time to serve, pour a generous amount of warm toffee sauce over each pudding. If not using cream cheese icing, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Makes 12 servings.