Sticky toffee and date pudding with toffee saucePlay

Pudding: Sticky Toffee and Date Pudding with toffee sauce (Alison Coulling)

Published: Monday, 22 October 2007, 3:39PM

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE PUDDING
• 100g chopped dates
• 90 ml boiling water
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 35g  softened butter
• 65g demerara sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp black treacle
• 75g  self-raising flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 60 ml  milk

FOR THE SAUCE
• 25g  butter
• 75g  dark soft brown sugar
• 120 ml  double cream
• 1 tbsp black treacle

TO SERVE
• crème fraîche, frozen

TRIANGLE DRIZZLE
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• Cold water

JOHN AND ED’S MASTERCLASS

John and Ed made no changes to Alison’s recipe but they made some serving  suggestions to her.  They suggested that she cut the top off her pudding and serve them upside down to give it a neater appearance. They also suggested she serve it with slightly less sauce and that she should lose the spun sugar decoration.

The frozen crème fraîche proved a little too much of a contrast of texture for the judges so they suggested that she poured it into an ice cream machine and churned it until it was semi frozen instead of rock hard.  They also thought that the pudding would be even better if served with a shot of golden rum.

METHOD

1. In a small bowl, soak the dates with boiling water and vanilla extract for 5 minutes the drain and mash.
2. Cream together the butter and demerara sugar
3. Beat the egg, add to butter mixture then beat in the black treacle.
4. Fold in 1/3 of the flour and all the bicarbonate of soda.
5. Add half the milk and repeat continuously adding the milk and flour until it is all used then stir in the mashed dates. 
6. Spoon in the date/treacle mixture into ramekins and bake for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees Celsuis.
7. To make the sauce, melt the butter, sugar and half the cream, bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until sugar has dissolved. 
8. Stir in the black treacle, turn up the heat and let mixture simmer for 2-3 minutes, stir occasionally. 
9. Remove from heat and add rest of cream
10. To serve, turn the pudding out and cut off the top.  Place it upside down on a plate. Pour 2 tablespoons of toffee sauce over the top and serve with a dollop of semi frozen crème fraîche and a shot of rum.