Icky Sticky Baked Date Pudding Food

ENGLISH STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch round or square baking dish. Sift the flour and baking powder onto a sheet of waxed paper. Chop the dates fine. Place in a small bowl and add the boiling water and baking soda; set aside. In a bowl of electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla; beat until blended. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Add the date mixture to the batter and fold until blended with a rubber spatula. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake until pudding is set and firm on top, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven to a wire rack.
• Toffee Sauce: Combine the butter, heavy cream and brown sugar in a small heavy saucepan; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil gently over medium low heat until mixture is thickened, about 8 minutes. Preheat broiler. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the sauce over the pudding. Spread evenly on top. Place pudding under the broiler until the topping is bubbly, about 1 minute. Serve immediately spooned into dessert bowls. Drizzle with toffee sauce and top with a spoonful of whipped cream.

ICKY STICKY BAKED DATE PUDDING

Steps:

• 1. In a saucepan, bring dates, water and orange rind to a boil;boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat;stir in baking soda and set aside. I a large bowl beat butter with brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beat in vanilla. In a small bowl , whisk together flour, baking powder and salt;sprinkle half over batter and fold in gently. Fold in date mixture then remainding flour mixture. Pour into a greased 9 inch square cake pan. Bake in 350 oven for 30 - 40 minutes. or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool slightly.
• 2. In a saucepan bring all ingredients except vanilla to a boil, stirring until smooth. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 mins. Stir in vanilla. Cut pudding into squares.Drizzle with toffee sauce. NOTE: Delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

STICKY DATE & GINGER PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Lightly grease a deep 2-litre (about 28 x 20cm) oval baking dish. Tip the dates into a pan, pour over the milk and bring up to scalding point. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla essence and bicarbonate of soda, then leave to one side. Sift the flour and ginger into a bowl, then add the sugar, butter and eggs. Beat with an electric whisk for about 5 mins. Fold in the date mixture and stem ginger, then pour into the baking dish.
• For the sauce, sprinkle the sugar over the pudding batter, then drizzle with the syrup. Pour 250ml boiling water over (do not stir), then bake for 40-45 mins until the pudding is firm to the touch. Serve spoonfuls of the pudding with a generous helping of syrupy sauce from the bottom of the dish. Great with vanilla ice cream or pouring cream.

LITTLE ICKY STICKY PUDDINGS WITH CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Before you do anything else, place the dates and the water into a saucepan over a moderate heat and bring the mixture to a good rolling boil.
• Remove saucepan from the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda.
• Now, allow the date mixture to cool while you prepare the other ingredients.
• Set the oven to 180C (350F).
• Grease a muffin tin (I use one that makes 12 muffins) very well.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
• Still beating, add eggs, one at a time, and beat until the beaters leave a'trail' in the mixture- it should be the consistency of whipped cream.
• Add vanilla and mix briefly to combine.
• Sift the flour into this mixture, then fold it in lightly but thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
• When the date mixture is cooled (no hotter than luke warm), tip it into the other ingredients and stir lightly but thoroughly to combine.
• A light hand in mixing at this stage will ensure light puddings.
• Don't worry that the mixture looks very liquid at this stage- that's how it's supposed to look.
• Spoon mixture into muffin cups, filling each cup almost, but not quite, to the top (they don't rise too much).
• Bake on the centre shelf of a preheated 180C (350F) oven for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer, inserted in the centre of a pudding, comes out clean.
• When cooked, remove tray from oven and allow puddings to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing to serve or to cool on wire racks.
• (If puddings stick, run a knife around the outside, and allow puddings to cool a little more before carefully easing out of the pan.) Serve warm with hot caramel sauce.
• TO MAKE THE CARAMEL SAUCE Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over a moderate heat and bring to the boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Serve over warm puddings.

STICKY DATE & RAISIN PUDDING

Steps:

• Put the dates, raisins, milk and brandy or rum in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 mins until the fruit is soft and the liquid has been absorbed - don't worry if it looks a little curdled. Leave to cool. Meanwhile, generously butter a 1.2-litre pudding basin.
• To prepare your steamer, place a snugly fitting upturned bowl or saucer in the base of a large, deep saucepan, big enough to hold your pudding basin. Cut out a large circle of baking parchment and one of foil, both 5cm wider than the rim of your pudding basin. Make a sharp pleat down the centre of both, then butter one side of the parchment - this will be your lid. Set aside. Boil the kettle for the steamer.
• In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating again until well combined. Finally, add the flour, mixed spice, orange zest, date mixture and a pinch of salt, and stir everything well with a spatula until there are no visible lumps of flour. Tip the cake mixture into your pudding basin. Cover the bowl with the parchment, butter-side down and pleat on top, then the foil. Push the sides of the lid down, then tie a piece of string securely under the lip of the basin. Use any overhanging string to create a handle to help you lift the pudding.
• Stand the pudding basin on top of the upturned bowl or saucer in the saucepan and fill the pan with enough boiling water to come halfway up the side of the basin. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover the pan with a lid and leave to steam for 2½ hrs, topping up with boiling water if the level gets low. Check the pudding is cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre. If the skewer has any uncooked mixture on it, return it to the pan to steam for another 15 mins, then check again. Once cooked, you can cover the pudding with clean baking parchment and foil and keep for up to a week. Re-steam the pudding for 1 hr before serving.