Sticky Toffee Pudding with Toffee Sauce

• 2large eggs
• 175 gplain flour, sifted
• 300 mlboiling water
• 150 gsoft light brown sugar
• ¼ tspfine sea salt
• 105 gunsalted butter: 100 g softened for the sponge and 5 g for greasing
• 250 gMedjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
• ½ tspbicarbonate of soda
• 1 tspbaking powder
• 200 mldouble cream
• 150 gdark muscovado sugar
• 50 gunsalted butter
• 1 tspvanilla extract (optional) (optional)
• 300 gvanilla ice cream, optional (optional)
• 1small pinch salt, for the sauce

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Use the 5 g butter to grease a 20cm square cake tin and line the base with baking paper; the sponge is sticky by design and you want it to turn out cleanly, not weld itself to the tin.
2. 2Tip the chopped dates into a bowl, pour over the boiling water and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Leave to stand for 5 minutes; the mixture will turn thick, glossy and syrupy as the dates collapse and soften.
3. 3In a large bowl, beat the 100 g softened butter and brown sugar together for 2–3 minutes until pale and slightly fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each so the batter doesn't split. Sift in the flour, baking powder and the fine sea salt and fold through to a smooth, thick batter; don't skip the salt, it's what stops the sponge tasting flatly sweet and lets the dates come through.
4. 4Stir the soaked dates and all their syrupy liquid into the batter, scrape into the prepared tin and level the top. Bake for 35–40 minutes, checking from 30 minutes, until the sponge is risen, dark on top and springs back gently when pressed, and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean with no wet batter clinging to it.
5. 5While the pudding bakes, make the sauce. Put the muscovado sugar, butter and cream into a small saucepan with a small pinch of salt and warm gently over a low heat, stirring, for 4–5 minutes until the sugar has fully dissolved and the sauce is glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the optional vanilla if using. Taste it; it should be deep, buttery and balanced, the salt pulling the sweetness into focus rather than letting it cloy.
6. 6Lift the baked pudding from the oven and, while it is still hot, prick the surface all over with a skewer; dozens of holes, right to the base. Pour over two-thirds of the warm toffee sauce and leave it to soak in for 5 minutes. The sponge will drink it up and turn deeply, almost wet-looking sticky.
7. 7Cut into six equal portions and serve with the remaining warm toffee sauce. Add a scoop of the optional vanilla ice cream if using.

Per serving

kcal

782

protein

7.4g

fibre

4.1g

carbs

103.7g

fat

39.3g