the hungry mum

In another lifetime I worked as a waiter in an olde-worlde, ancient English pub. This gorgeous pub was in a teeny tiny country village and people travelled the skinny, windy roads from villages all around to eat there.

It was here that I first tried one of the most popular deserts on the menu – sticky toffee pudding. Now it is a household name of a dessert but back then it was just getting its name out there, at least in Australia. Many was the time that I would just have this delicious, warming dessert for dinner after a busy waitressing shift at the pub. Ahhh, youth…

This most English of desserts gets its caramel-y taste from the addition of pitted dates and brown sugar. When baked it creates a moist, golden, melt-in-the-mouth pudding that is the perfect way to end a wintry night.

Back at the pub they served the pudding with its traditional caramel sauce, which I have updated by making it salted caramel sauce. The salt cuts through the sweetness and provides a nice contrast to the sugar.

Whenever I make this dessert even the non-sweet eaters cannot resist a wedge. Served warm, drizzled with the salted caramel sauce, and maybe a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on the side, it is such a luxurious cold weather dessert that couldn’t be easier to make.

It is a great dessert for feeding a crowd – as it is quite rich a small square goes a long way.

GATHER:

250g pitted dates, snipped with scissors into chunks

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 1/2 cups boiling water

125g butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups self-raising flour

Salted caramel sauce

50g brown sugar

50g caster sugar

50mL golden syrup

125mL double cream

75g  unsalted butter, cubed

half to one-and-a-half teaspoons best quality salt [I use pink Murray River salt]

Let`s get to it:

Put dates and bicarbonate of soda in a small bowl then pour over boiling water. Set aside for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180°C and spray a 20cm square cake tin with non-stick spray and line base with baking paper.

In bowl of electric stand mixer with paddle attachment beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale then beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat until incorporated before adding the next egg.

Fold in the flour and date mixture with a silver spoon and stir until incorporated.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 35 minutes. Set aside while you make the sauce.

Salted caramel sauce:

Melt butter, sugars and syrup in a small heavy pan and simmer for two to three minutes. Swirl, don’t stir, occasionally.

Slowly pour in cream and half a teaspoon of the salt and stir before tasting. Add a little more salt at a time if you desire.

To serve: Cut pudding into squares, place in serving bowl, then drown in salted caramel sauce. Best eaten warm.

Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, recipe, salted caramel sauce, sticky date pudding, winter dessert