Sticky Date Pudding with Wicked Toffee Sauce

This is my new favorite recipe. It is a recipe by Annabel Langbein and since it is wickedly easy you should definately try it. 

Succes garuanteed!

annabel-langbein sticky-date-pudding-with-wicked-toffee-sauce

Sticky Date Pudding

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 35-40 minutes
Servings: 8

• 175 g pitted dates
• 300 ml water
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 60 g butter, chopped
• 200 g brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 225 g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 pears, cored and cut into thin slices (I peeled the pears)

Preheat oven to 180˚C. Grease the sides of a cake tin (25cm) 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. 

The cake keeps well for a day or two and can be frozen. Defrost and serve warm – heat it in the oven for 10 minutes or microwave it for 2-3 minutes.

Serve with warm Wicked Toffee Sauce.

Wicked Toffee Sauce

• 125 ml water
• 450 g dark caster sugar
• 500 ml cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Place the water in a saucepan. Add the 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 the cream and 2 tsp vanilla extract and stir until smooth. 

Leftover sauce can be stored in the fridge and reheated.