An easy sticky toffee pudding – no steaming, no caramel to make, just tasty springy sponge and a treacle toffee sauce.
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp demerara sugar, for coating the moulds
- 200g/7oz pitted dates
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 50g/2oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing the moulds
- 175g/6oz dark muscovado sugar
- 1½ tsp golden syrup
- 1½ tsp black treacle
- 200g/7oz self-raising flour
- 2 free-range eggs
- 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the toffee sauce
- 500ml/18fl oz double cream
- 175g/6oz demerara sugar
- 175g/6oz butter
- 1 tbsp golden syrup
- 1 tbsp black treacle
To serve
- vanilla ice cream
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
- Butter eight small pudding basins (dariole moulds) and sprinkle demerara sugar inside, coating evenly. Shake any excess sugar out of the moulds, and place them on a baking tray.
- Place the dates with 250ml/9fl oz water into a saucepan and bring up to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Stir the vanilla extract into the date mixture.
- Blend with a stick blender until the date mixture is thick and soupy.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and muscovado sugar together until smooth.
- Stir in the syrup and treacle, then the flour, mixing well.
- Break the eggs one at a time into the bowl, stirring well after each one.
- Add the bicarbonate of soda to the date mixture, then pour into the flour mixture and beat well to blend.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pudding basins, filling them two-thirds full.
- Put the puddings into the oven immediately, and bake for 20 minutes until well-risen and springy to the touch.
- For the sauce, gently heat the cream in a saucepan. Add the sugar and butter and whisk until melted. Whisk in the syrup and treacle.
- To serve, turn the pudding out onto a plate, spoon the sauce over the top and around, then finish with a dollop of ice cream.
Source: BBC FOODS