STICKY DATE PUDDING
The Sticky Date Pudding is one of the classic Aussie recipes I feel a lot of us grew up with. This recipe is super simple. As you know, I am not really a baker (and neither is my friend Jiny who I cooked this with) but I think we nailed this recipe. Give this classic a try and you will never want to order it out again!!
Pudding
250g pitted dates, chopped (the softer ones are best - I wouldn’t waste your $$ on the Medjool dates but I got the “Soft and Juicy” ones from Woolies and they worked a treat.
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
215ml boiling water
125g butter, softened
165g brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence (or the good paste if you've got it)
1½ cups (225g) self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
Sticky Toffee Sauce
150g butter
330g brown sugar
300ml thickened cream (pouring cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Vanilla ice cream, to serve
Step 1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease a deep 20cm square cake tin and line with baking paper. Prep the dates: Put the chopped dates and bicarb soda in a heatproof bowl. Pour over the boiling water, give it a stir, and let it stand for 10-15 minutes.
Step 2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. You can use a stand mixer, hand beaters or a wooden spoon (if your feeling strong) for this. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. It might look a bit curdled, but dont worry, this is all good!
Step 3. Sift in the self-raising flour and salt and gently fold through the wet ingredients. Then stir through the date mixture (including all the lovely liquid). The batter will be quite wet, that is how you want it. Pour batter into your tin and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. The cake may sink slightly in the middle, but this is normal for a sticky date.
Step 4. While the cake is baking, make the sauce. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then add the brown sugar and cream. Stir until the sugar dissolves, gently simmer for 3-4 minutes until it thickens up.
Step 5. While the pudding’s still warm and in the tin, poke a few holes in the top with a skewer and pour over a good amount of the warm sauce. Let it soak in. Serve big slabs in bowls with more sauce over the top, plus ice cream to finish!
