Liz’s Sticky Date Pudding

Liz's Sticky Date Pudding

Serves  6-8

Oh sticky date pudding! How I love thee! And don’t get me started on the butterscotch sauce!

It was this pud that started me on my sticky date obsession! Have you seen my Sticky Date Cheesecake, my Sticky Date Cookies and my Sticky Date Slice? I think all things sticky date are really great but this sticky date pudding will always be my sticky date first love!

I first had this delicious dessert when I was backpacking round Australia and staying at the Warrambungles. Our fabulous hostess Liz made this amazing pudding, and I loved it so much, I stayed an extra night because she promised to save me leftovers for the following day.  I left the campsite with a full belly and a much loved recipe! I’ve been making Liz’s pud ever since and it never fails to please. It’s the most awesome Aussie dessert!

If you make small holes in the cake and pour over butterscotch sauce while it’s still hot, the sauce is absorbed, and makes for a super gooey texture. You can pour the sauce over the cake while it’s in the tin, but I find it too tricky to remove the cake from the pan once it’s soaked in sauce. I like to cut it into slices before I pour over the sauce because placing and portioning of sauce is so personal, don’t you think?!

Are you a fan of all things sticky date too? How do you like your sauce – all over or on the side?

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Ingredients

1¼ cup (210 g) pitted dates

250ml boiling water

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

60g butter, chopped, at room temperature

100g brown sugar

1 cup (150g) self raising flour

2 eggs

SAUCE

1 cup (200g) firmly packed brown sugar

300 ml double cream

200g butter

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How to – Traditional

  1. Grease deep 20cm round cake tin and line base with baking paper.
  2. Combine dates and bicarb in a bowl and pour over boiling water. Stand for 5 minutes.
  3. Using an electric mixer, beat in butter and sugar until smooth.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time and then fold in the flour.
  5. Pour mixture into tin – it has a lot of water in it, so don’t worry if it seems runnier than a normal cake mixture, it will make for a lovely, moist pud!
  6. Bake in moderate oven for 35-40 minutes. Cover with foil during baking if over browning. Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes.
  7. Serve pudding with sauce and a scoop of ice cream.

FOR THE SAUCE

Combine ingredients in pan and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted. Simmering the sauce thickens it slighter and gives it a richer finish. Watch the pan as the sauce can quickly boil up the sides if the temperature is too hot.

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How to – Thermomix

  1. Grease deep 20cm round cake tin and line base with baking paper.
  2. Combine dates and bicarb in TM bowl and pour over boiling water. Stand for 5 minutes.
  3. Add butter and sugar and mix for 10 seconds on speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl.
  4. Add the flour, then the eggs and mix on speed 4-5 for 5-10 seconds  until combined.
  5. Pour mixture into tin – it has a lot of water in it, so don’t worry if it seems runnier than a normal cake mixture, it will make for a lovely, moist pud!
  6. Bake in moderate oven for 35-40 minutes. Cover with foil during baking if over browning. Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes.
  7. Serve pudding with sauce and a scoop of ice cream.

FOR THE SAUCE

Combine ingredients in TM bowl and cook at 80C on speed 1 for 2 minutes. Cook for a further 8 minutes on Varoma speed 2, scraping down the sides halfway through cooking. The sauce will thicken on standing.

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