Sticky Toffee Pudding

February 7, 2018

Sticky Toffee Pudding is neither pudding nor toffee. It is a brown-sugar date cake drizzled with a brown-sugar butter sauce and served with ice cream. It is also a perfect dessert—easy to make, indulgent and loved by everyone. I first tasted the dessert on a trip to Ireland some years ago. And what a first encounter it was. After a super-indulgent dinner, a group of us were going to split it for dessert, as we were all too full to go it alone. What a mistake. It was some of the best stuff I had ever put in my mouth, and admittedly, I proceeded to hog it.

Once I returned home, I started testing to find the perfect recipe. I combined the best of two recipes, opting for white sugar instead of brown to let the dates shine, a dash of cinnamon definitely, and 3 eggs versus 2. I have to say, right out of the gate, this is one of the tastiest cakes I’ve ever made. It’s close to perfect. Who’d have thought dates could make something so magnificent.

Ingredients

25dates, chopped

1 cupboiling water

1 teaspoonsbaking soda

3/4 cupsugar

8 tablespoonsbutter

3eggs

1 2/3 cupsflour

1 teaspoonbaking powder

1/2 teaspooncinnamon

1/2 teaspoonsalt

1 cup (4 ounces)firmly packed brown sugar

1 cupheavy cream

4 tablespoonsbutter

1 teaspoonvanilla extract

pinchsalt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly coat an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray.

To prepare cake, combine dates, boiling water and baking soda in a bowl. Let stand 30 minutes or until lukewarm.
Combine sugar and butter and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Gently fold flour mixture and softened dates (including soaking water) into egg mixture just until blended. Pour into prepared pan, smoothing top. Place on a shallow baking pan and bake about 45 minutes, until top is puffed and slightly firm to the touch in the center. (Center may fall slightly after baking.)
Let cake cool on a wire rack 20 minutes. Run a knife along the inside of the pan to release cake. Carefully remove side of pan.
To prepare sauce, combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes, without stirring. (Makes 1 2/3 cups sauce.)
To serve, slice cake into 12 wedges. Spoon about 2 tablespoons warm sauce on top of each piece. Serve with vanilla ice cream.