serves
8
prep
35 minutes
cook
50 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
8
people
preparation
35
minutes
cooking
50
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
Pudding
- 150 g butter
- 175 g light muscovado sugar
- 3 tsp golden syrup
- 1½ tbsp black treacle
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 200 g self-raising flour
- 175 g chopped dried dates
- 3 tsp bicarbonate soda
Toffee sauce
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 150 g dark muscovado sugar
- 2 tbsp + 1 tsp golden syrup
- 150 ml double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- generous pinch sea salt
To finish
- 500 ml carton ice-cream
- 8 egg whites
- squeeze of lemon juice
- 1 vanilla pod, split in half and seeds scraped out
- 200 g caster sugar
Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 200°C. To make the sticky toffee pudding, line a 23cm cake tin with parchment paper. Blend the butter and sugar together in a food mixer using a fast speed. Add the golden syrup, treacle, eggs and vanilla slowly and continue to mix. When this is done turn down the mixer to a slow speed and add the flour. When this is mixed well turn the mixer off.
2. Boil 300ml of water in a saucepan with the dates. After boiling for a few minutes add the bicarbonate of soda. Be careful as this mixture will foam up. Add this to the flour mixture when it is still hot. Combine the two and then pour into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 45 minutes, or until firm and slightly springy to the touch.
3. Meanwhile, make the toffee sauce. Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup together in a small pan until the sugar as dissolved. Add the cream, vanilla extract and salt and bring to a steady simmer for 3 minutes until the toffee sauce has nicely thickened. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
4. When the sticky toffee pudding is cooked, remove from the cake tin and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Using a 5cm (2in) cutter, stamp out 8-12 discs from the cooled sticky toffee pudding, each one should be about 2.5cm high. Using an ice cream scoop make 8-12 even-sized scoops of the ice cream that will sit nicely on the sticky toffee pudding discs and put back into the freezer on a baking sheet until needed.
5. Working quickly so that the ice cream doesn’t melt, place the discs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and add a small spoonful of the toffee sauce to each one, then put an ice cream scoop on top. If this proves a little difficult cut out a small v shape from each disc so that the ice cream sits neatly on top. Put in the freezer until needed.
6. Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice and vanilla seeds until they are almost stiff peaks. Add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whisking until stiff and shiny after each addition.
7. Take the sticky toffee pudding and ice cream topped discs out of the freezer and spread over the meringue with a palette knife or fill a piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm plain nozzle with meringue and start to pipe from the until each sticky toffee pudding and ice-cream topped disc is completely covered. Alternatively just use a palette knife to spread on the meringue. Place in the freezer for at least 2 hours to firm up.
8. Using a blow torch, cook the meringue until golden brown but the ice cream is still frozen in the middle. This can also be done in a preheated oven 220C for 6-8 minutes but I find it works best with the blow torch.
9. To serve, carefully lift the baked Alaskas off the baking sheet with a fish slice and put on plates. Drizzle around the rest of sauce to serve.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
