This is a traditional family recipe made using local ingredients, with a special twist with the addition of coffee, served with a gorgeous banana ice cream.
Ingredients
For the pudding:
- 230 ml8 fl oz water
- 200 g7 oz pitted dates
- 110 g4 oz butter, cubed
- 170 g6 oz caster sugar
- 2½ tsp coffee granules
- 2 vanilla pods, seeds removed
- 2 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 200 g7 oz self-raising flour
- Butter for greasing
- A sprinkling of plain flour
For the sauce:
- 200 g7 oz cubed butter
- 450 g15¾ oz dark brown sugar
- 400 ml14 fl oz single cream
For the banana ice cream:
- 3 ripe bananas
- 425 ml15 fl oz sheep’s milk
- 100 g3½ oz caster sugar
To serve:
- 20 g¾ oz caster sugar
- A handful of redcurrants
- Cream
Method: How to make Sticky toffee pudding Britain's Best Dish
To make the banana ice cream, puree the bananas with a stick blender.
Place them in a bowl followed by the sheep's milk and caster sugar. Whisk together and place in an ice-cream maker for at least 2 hours.
For the pudding, preheat the oven to 160C (or 150C if using a fan oven).
Pour the water into a pan, add the pitted dates and place over the heat for 7-9 minutes to allow the dates to break down and fall apart. Watch the dates, don't boil the water away completely-move the pan away from the heat to avoid this.
In another pan, melt the cubed butter. Once the butter is melted add the caster sugar and stir in.
Melt the coffee granules in a very small amount of warm water. Add the seeds from the vanilla pod.
Whisk the eggs and egg yolk so the whites and the yolks are just combined.
Once the dates are cooked, stir in the bicarbonate of soda and take off the heat immediately. Pour the date mixture into a mixing bowl then add the sugar/butter mix followed by the flour, coffee paste and finally the eggs so they are gently presented to the heat (avoiding any curdling).
Mix all the ingredients together with a whisk then pour the mixture into a 23cm x 30cm dish. Place in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
10 minutes before the pudding is ready, start to make the sauce. First melt the cubed butter, again bringing it off the heat so it doesn't burn. Slowly add the dark brown sugar while mixing. Place back on the heat and stir well, not allowing the sauce to sit still. Stir whilst boiling until the sugar crystals have broken down.
Take off the heat and keep stirring while you slowly add the cream. Stir until the cream is well-mixed into the sauce. Pour into a jug.
Take the pudding out of the oven and pierce it with a skewer in several places. Sprinkle with the sugar. Serve the sticky toffee pudding in squares drizzled with the sauce, with the homemade banana ice cream and redcurrants and cream on the side.
