Sticky date pudding

Rich, warm and doused in creamy butterscotch sauce, the sticky toffee pudding is a beloved comfort classic. In this version, it gets an egg-free makeover.

Sticky date pudding Credit: Adam Liaw

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 160 g (1 cup) pitted dried dates
• 185 ml (¾ cup) boiling water
• 125 g unsalted butter, room temperature, diced
• 125 g (⅔ cup, lightly packed) brown sugar
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 3 cm piece ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 225 g (1½ cups) self-raising flour, sifted
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) milk

Butterscotch sauce

• 300 ml pure cream
• 100 g (½ cup, lightly packed) brown sugar
• 115 g (⅓ cup) golden syrup
• 20 g butter, chopped

Resting time: 15 minutes

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 170˚C. Grease a 20 cm round cake tin and line the base and side with baking paper.
2. Place the dates and boiling water in a heatproof bowl. Set aside for 15 minutes to soften. Using a stick blender, pulse the dates in the water about 8–9 times or until the dates are coarsely pureed.
3. Meanwhile, place the butter, sugar, golden syrup and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy.
4. Add the date mixture, grated ginger, flour and milk to the butter and sugar mixture and beat just until combined.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 50–60 minutes or until a skewer withdraws clean. When the cake has been baking for 40 minutes, cover the tin with foil to stop the pudding from browning too much. Stand in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool slightly.
6. Meanwhile, for the butterscotch sauce, place all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and stir for 5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10–15 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
7. Slice the date pudding and serve with the butterscotch sauce.

 

Photography by Adam Liaw.

Want more from The Cook Up?

• Stream free here at SBS On Demand.

• Get the show recipes, articles and more here.

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.