Sticky date pudding with Wicked Toffee Sauce- Annabel Langbein

By á-48807

twist on an old kiwi favourite.

Ingredients

• 1 cup pitted dates
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 60 g butter, chopped
• 1 packed cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 pears, cored and cut into thin slices

Details

Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 40mins
Adapted from annabel-langbein.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 180˚C. Grease the sides of a 25cm cake tin and line the base with baking paper.

Place dates, water and baking soda in a pot large enough to hold the entire mixture and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and mash with a potato masher to break up the dates.

Stir in chopped butter and mix until butter is melted. Mix in sugar and eggs then fold in flour, vanilla and ginger.

Arrange pear slices in a concentric circle around the base of the tin, placing a few slices in the centre. Pour batter over the top and smooth evenly to fully cover the pears.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Stand for at least 10 minutes before turning upside down onto a serving platter and removing the baking paper. Serve with warm Wicked Toffee Sauce.

This dessert keeps well for a day or two and can be frozen. Thaw and serve warm – heat it in the oven for 10 minutes or microwave it for 2-3 minutes.

Wicked Toffee Sauce

Place ½ cup water in a saucepan. Add 2 cups caster sugar and place over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves and comes to the boil, swirling the pot now and then. Boil without stirring until mixture turns a golden caramel colour – approximately 8-10 minutes. (Do not be tempted to stir the mixture as this could cause it to crystallise. To prevent it from crystallising, you can run a wet brush around the sides of the pot, allowing the excess water to run into the sugar mixture.) Remove from heat, add 2 cups cream and 2 tsp vanilla extract and stir until smooth. Leftover sauce can be stored in the fridge and reheated. Makes 3 cups.