225g chopped dates (one 8 oz bag pitted fresh
dates)
300ml hot tea (1 ¼ cups water and 2 tea bags I used my Irish tea)
110g butter (1 stick salted)
175g caster sugar (generous 3/4 of actual caster
sugar NOT granulated)
3 eggs
250g plain flour (2 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking
soda)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso granules
For hot toffee sauce:
110g butter (1 stick salted)
175g dark brown soft sugar (7/8 of a cup I
packed mine)
110g granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
300g golden syrup (11 oz – buy it from the UK or see
foot note below for substitutes) 250ml single cream (is the same as half/half –
generous 1 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chop dates finely and soak in tea for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas 4 (350 F). Prepare and line a 20cm (8
in) round cake tin.
Cream butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in
the eggs one by one. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold into the
mixture.
Add bicarbonate of soda, vanilla and espresso to the dates
and tea. Combine both mixtures to produce a loose soft dropping consistency.
Turn into the prepared tin and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or
until skewer comes out clean. Start with 1 hour, ovens vary and it only took me 1 hour in a 9 inch round pan, and slightly over 1 hour for the 8 inch.
To make the toffee sauce:
Put the butter, sugars and golden syrup into a heavy based
saucepan and melt gently on a low heat. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and gradually stir in the cream and vanilla extract. Return to heat and stir for 2 to 3 minutes until sauce is smooth.
Remove from heat and gradually stir in the cream and vanilla extract. Return to heat and stir for 2 to 3 minutes until sauce is smooth.
Pour a little sauce onto a serving dish. Place a portion of
the pudding on top and pour over more sauce.
Pour remaining sauce into a jug to serve, along with softly
whipped cream.
Makes 8 Servings
Allrecipes.co.uk
Golden syrup is an amber-colored liquid
sweetener made by evaporating sugar cane juice until it's thick and
syrupy. I used ½ blackstrap molasses
ad ½ high fructose corn syrup.
Substitutes: Combine two parts light corn
syrup plus one part molasses OR equal parts honey and corn syrup OR maple
syrup (This is thinner, and not as sweet.) OR dark corn syrup (This again is
thinner and not as sweet as golden syrup. If you like, try reducing the
corn syrup in a saucepan to thicken it.)
Homemade Golden Syrup Substitute: Heat ¼ cup sugar in a
heavy bottomed saucepan. Spread sugar in an even layer on the bottom of the
pan. Mix a teaspoon of water with ½ teaspoon of vinegar and sprinkle mixture over
sugar. Place the pan over low heat and cook for four to five minutes, without
stirring. Increase heat to medium and cook for about five more minutes, until
it forms syrup with caramel color. Don't stir the mixture until it stops
bubbling. Once the bubbling stops stir well and remove the pan from heat. You
can use this syrup as a golden syrup substitute.
