Sticky Toffee Pudding!  There that should give me a green light on SEO scale.  Why the sudden abrupt start?  Well, I’m figuring out the new plug ins to improve the SEO.  Apparently they recommend using the focus keyword right out of the gate.  Yeah, I won’t be making a habit out of that.  It seems the equivalent of a brass band starting this off.  And I don’t have the lurgy so I’m just trying it out once to see what happens. As for this plugin, the proof will be in the pudding.

Pudding you say?  Well let’s get on with the reason we’re here.  Food!

Treating the In-Laws:

As many of you know we’ve been working on redoing our bedroom.  We had a definite deadline as my in-laws arrived this week.  Down to the wire but they were pleased to know they had a guest room to stay in!  We always have fun when we get together and this weekend we start it off with glassblowing.  Thank goodness the weather has turned cool as it’s a very hot activity.  Hopefully we’ll get some hiking in but the remnants of Florence will be blowing through next week.  I really hope their holiday isn’t rained out.

My mum-in-law runs a B & B so she looks forward not to have to do anything in the kitchen.  I try to treat them with meals and good desserts. I picked sticky toffee pudding as it’s a traditional pud.  Turns out my mum-in-law has never had it as she tries to be good.  Ah well, it’s holiday!

I did research the recipe online and for the most part it’s straight forward and relatively the same.  Unless you are Martha Stewart.  She made it weird.  As I have the “Baking with Mary Berry” book I decided to use that.  But while I was at tax class I looked her recipe up online to double check my ingredients.  Wouldn’t you know it, they were two completely different recipes!  The book uses dates and the online used black treacle.  I mean, really.  I chose the book with a little variation.

The Technique for Sticky Toffee Pudding:

I decided to use the recipe with the dates as I love that fruit.  Her recipe calls for walnuts but enough of my family members really don’t like nuts in the baked goods so I just increased the dates called for.

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C

Coarsely chop the dates.

Instead of a cup of dates, I increased it to 1 1/2 cups of coarsely chopped dates to make up for the removal of the walnuts.

In the mixer, cream together 6 tablespoons of softened butter with 1 cup of lightly packed brown sugar.  Then add 2 beaten eggs with a tablespoon of coffee.  Mix well.

Now if you have access to self raising flour, use 1 1/2 cups of that.  If you don’t, take 1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour, add 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt.  Gradually add this to the mixing bowl and again mix well.  A note on the flour.  There are times the flour can be really drying with the ingredients.  I’ve had trouble with it this week.  I’m not sure if the co-op changed vendors or what but unbeknownst to me it was affecting this dish.  More on that later.  Add the dates and 3/4 hot water (not boiling).

Lightly grease an 8″/20cm square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.  Spoon the mixture into the pan.

Bake 45-50 minutes.  However, due to the flour issues, I should have checked it at 40 minutes.  But you get chatting and catching up and well, life happens.  Mine came out a little dry so thank goodness for the sauce.

Don’t do the sauce for the sticky toffee pudding until you are ready to serve.  If you do make it ahead of time, just microwave it to make it runny.

In a small saucepan add 9 tablespoons of butter (how isn’t Mary Berry massive) with 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar.  Heat on low-medium until the sugar is incorporated and dissolved in the butter.  Keep stirring so it doesn’t catch on the bottom.

Add 6 tablespoons of heavy/double cream.  Be careful doing this as it will sizzle and you don’t want to be splattered with hot sugar.  Also add a tablespoon of brandy.

The best part!

Not going to lie, I think the best part of sticky toffee pudding is the sauce.  I could just have a bowl of it.  I don’t think I could handle the full on sugar rush though!

Print

Sticky Toffee Pudding

A delicious pudding with dates and a toffee sauce

Course Dessert

Servings 8 people

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

Cake

• 6 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp coffee
• 1 1/2 cups self rising flour
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped dates
• 3/4 cup hot water

Sauce

• 9 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 6 tbsp heavy or double cream

Instructions

1. To make the cake:

   Cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the eggs and mix well. Then add the coffee.

   Gradually add the flour until well blended.

   Add the dates and water.

   Bake at 350F/180C for 45-50 minutes in a lightly greased 8"/20cm square baking pan.  Line the bottom with parchment paper.

2. To make the sauce:

   Melt the butter with the sugar until the sugar is dissolved.

   Carefully add the cream and brandy.

   Drizzle over the cake when serving.