A Sprinkle of Sequins: Sugar High Friday #6 - Caramel - Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce

March 18, 2005

I've made it just in time! Didn't think i would, but i was determined to take part in my first SHF, so i pulled my finger out and got on with something this evening and i now feel like a total pig! Caramel was such a great choice, so thank you Debbie at Words to Eat By for such a fabulous topic to cook by. But i'm afraid, no, what am i talking about!, i'm not actually afraid because i enjoyed it so much, but my entry was a full on stodgy one! I took a vote with my colleagues at work and they all ooohed and aaahed over this one and said it had to be. This is even though it was a beautiful weather day here in the UK and in no way was it a night for eating calorific, winter stodge...but hey, sometimes a girl just has to get on with it...

My entry is taken from The Essential Dessert Cookbook, which is a lovely huge tome of a recipe book just filled with sweet thing after sweet thing, it's enough to make you want to jump for joy at the greatness of dessert...Highly recommended.

Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Serves 6-8 people

370g pitted dates

1 1/2 teaspoons bicarb of soda

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

90g unsalted butter

250g caster sugar

3 eggs

185g self raising flour

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice

creme fraiche, for serving

Caramel Sauce

150g unsalted butter

230g soft brown sugar

80ml golden syrup

185ml cream

Preheat the oven to about 180 deg C. Grease and line the base of a deep 23cm (9 in) diameter cake tin. Chop the dates and put them in a pan with 440 ml of water. Bring this to the boil, then remove from the heat, add the bicarb of soda and ginger and leave to stand for 5 minutes.
Cream together the butter, sugar and 1 egg. Beat in the remaining eggs one at a time. Fold in the sifted flour and spice, add the date mixture and stir well until well combined. Pour into the tin and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Cover with foil if overbrowning during cooking. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before turning out onto a serving plate.
To make the caramel sauce, stir all the ingredients in a pan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer, uncovered, for about 3 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Brush some sauce over the top and sides of the pudding until well-glazed. Serve immediately with the sauce and a dollop of creme fraiche.

We thought it turned out wonderfully. The pudding itself was a very nice texture thanks to the lovely dates and it smelt gorgeously aromatic. The caramel actually turned out pretty well too, and look at the photo, we had tons of it to enjoy and slather onto the pudding, always a bonus i think!

Fingers crossed i think this has turned out ok for a first time effort. If you've got any comments for me i would love to have some feedback either on the recipe or how i have written about it (not totally sure on the protocol of these things, have i noted the weights and measurements in the right way, have i forgotten to include anything of importance). Anyway, hope you enjoy this recipe, give it a go on a cold and rainy night when you need something to provide sustenance and food satisfaction.

A Sprinkle of Sequins

March 18, 2005

Sugar High Friday #6 - Caramel - Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce

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Nikita

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