Sticky Date Pudding With Wicked Toffee Sauce Annabel Langbein Recipe 445 Food

STICKY DATE PUDDING WITH WICKED TOFFEE SAUCE- ANNABEL LANGBEIN RECIPE - (4.4/5)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180˚C. Grease the sides of a 25cm cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Place dates, water and baking soda in a pot large enough to hold the entire mixture and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and mash with a potato masher to break up the dates. Stir in chopped butter and mix until butter is melted. Mix in sugar and eggs then fold in flour, vanilla and ginger. Arrange pear slices in a concentric circle around the base of the tin, placing a few slices in the centre. Pour batter over the top and smooth evenly to fully cover the pears. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Stand for at least 10 minutes before turning upside down onto a serving platter and removing the baking paper. Serve with warm Wicked Toffee Sauce. This dessert keeps well for a day or two and can be frozen. Thaw and serve warm - heat it in the oven for 10 minutes or microwave it for 2-3 minutes. Wicked Toffee Sauce Place ½ cup water in a saucepan. Add 2 cups caster sugar and place over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves and comes to the boil, swirling the pot now and then. Boil without stirring until mixture turns a golden caramel colour - approximately 8-10 minutes. (Do not be tempted to stir the mixture as this could cause it to crystallise. To prevent it from crystallising, you can run a wet brush around the sides of the pot, allowing the excess water to run into the sugar mixture.) Remove from heat, add 2 cups cream and 2 tsp vanilla extract and stir until smooth. Leftover sauce can be stored in the fridge and reheated. Makes 3 cups.

STICKY DATE PUDDING WITH TOFFEE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180 °C). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking pan with parchment paper. Half-fill a larger baking pan with hot water.
• For the pudding, chop the dates coarsely, place them in a small saucepan with the water and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, mix in the baking soda and let stand for 20 minutes.
• In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, adding the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, ground ginger and salt. Use a spoon to work this into the egg mixture. Finally, add the date mixture and combine all the ingredients well.
• Pour the mix into the prepared baking pan and sit the pan in the water bath. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce to oven temperature to 300°F (150 °C) until the cake is cooked, 25 more minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Cut in 8 squares.
• For the toffee sauce, melt the butter and dissolve the sugar in it over medium heat. Add the cream and, if using the vanilla and rum, simmer for 5 minutes until thickened slightly, stirring just to incorporate.
• Serve the pudding warm with warm toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream. The pudding can be made ahead and kept refrigerated until needed. It can be reheated by steamer, or lightly microwaved before serving.

STICKY TOFFEE DATE PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
• Mix the dates and baking soda in a bowl.
• Pour boiling water on top and leave until needed.
• Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs one at a time, beat well after each addition.
• Fold in the sifted flour, stir in the date mixture, and pour into a greased 18cm or 7" square or round cake tin.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
• For the sauce: Combine sugar, cream, vanilla essence and butter in a saucepan, bring to the boil, stirring, and simmer for five minutes.
• Set aside until ready to serve.
• Cut pudding into squares and place each square in the centre of a warm dinner plate.
• Pour hot toffee sauce (reheat if neccesary) over each square and serve with ice cream.