A favourite desert.
Sponge:
- 200g soft dried pitted dates, roughly chopped
- 200ml water from a freshly boiled kettle
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 75g unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tbsp black treacle
- 50g dark muscovado sugar
- 2 large free-range eggs, room temperature
- 150g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
Sauce:
- 150g unsalted butter, softened
- 300g/10½oz dark muscovado sugar
- 1 tbsp black treacle
- 200ml double cream
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Preheat oven to 180C, lightly grease dish
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Put chopped dates, boiling water, bicarbonate of soda into bowl
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Stir, leave for 10 minutes
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Cream butter, black treacle together in a stand mixer until well mixed
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Add sugar, mix again, beating out lumps
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Beat in an egg, keep beating, same with other egg
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Add flour, baking powder until a smooth, thick batter
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Using a fork, stir soaked dates, squishing a bit
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Pour dates, it’s liquid into batter, beat gently to mix
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Pour, scrape into dish, bake for 30 minutes
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For sauce melt butter, muscovado sugar, treacle over low heat
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Once butter’s melted, stir gently till all is melted
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Stir in cream, turn up heat
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When bubbling hot, take it off heat
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Prick cooked sponge pudding all over
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Pour a quarter of warm sauce over, ease it to the edges
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Put a lid on remaining sauce to keep it warm
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Leave pudding to stand for 30 minutes
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Serve with remaining sauce in a jug
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Add cream or vanilla ice cream to serve
So delicious…