tastebudds

Dates, especially dried pitted ones have many nutritional facts that many of us don't know about. It contains many sources of minerals, vitamins and fibres. While we wanted to make something sweet, we didn't want anything sinful either, which made sticky date pudding our obvious choice.


Sticky date pudding, also known as the sticky toffee pudding is a hugely popular British dessert amongst the locals, often served in high-end restaurants with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce. This is all but a simplified version of the basic sticky, but of course you are free - and encouraged - to experiment with ginger or .

Keep in mind while making this, that although it may look incredibly gross and faeces-like after going through the blender, it tastes incredibly good with that butterscotch hot sauce. Funny thing with the pudding was the more we ate it, the tastier it became. It's just one of those weird desserts that doesn't make you sick the more you eat it. Oh, one more thing, make sure you keep an eye on the pudding while baking, as it tends to bake faster than the required time (we should know - ours got burnt bad.). So, enjoy getting sticky with the dates!

sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce

makes enough for 4

100g dried pitted dates
150ml boiling water
half tsp bicarbonate of soda
25g chopped butter
50g brown sugar
1 egg
half cup of self-raising flour

for the sauce
75g firmly packed brown sugar
150ml of cream
40g chopped butter








Method

1. Preheat oven to 150 deg. Lay baking paper over cake pan.
2. Soak dates in boiling water, stirring in the bicarbonate. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
3. Puree date mixture with butter and sugar in a blender. Add eggs and flour and continue blending until smooth. Pour mixture into the cake pan.
4. Bake for 45 minutes or so, checking with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. (in which case it is ready)
5. Meanwhile, combine ingredients for butterscotch sauce in a saucepan and stir over low heat until smooth and slightly thickened.
6. Once pudding is ready, allow it to stand for 10 minutes. Serve warm with butterscotch sauce or ice cream.