Africa Born Recipe - Food Fairy Sticky Toffee Pudding

Sticky toffee pudding is a delicious comforting dessert, best served in cold weather when you want to cuddle up by a fire with a warm blanket and you want to give yourself a big hug.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SPONGE

200g/7oz soft dried pitted dates, roughly chopped
200g/7fl oz water from a freshly boiled kettle
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
75g/2.5oz unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing
2 tbsp black treacle
50g/1.75oz dark muscovado sugar
2 large free-range eggs, at room temperature
150g/5.5oz plain flour
2 tsp baking powder

FOR THE SAUCE

150g/5.5OZ - unsalted butter, very soft
300g/10.5oz dark muscovado sugar
1 tbsp black treacle
200ml/7fl oz double cream, plus more to serve

METHOD

STEP 1
Preheat the oven to 180˚C/Gas 4/355˚F and lightly grease your dish

STEP 2
Put the chopped dates, boiling water, and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl, stir and then leave for 10 minutes.

STEP 3
Cream the butter and black treacle together in a stand mixer until well mixed, then add the sugar and mix again, beating out any lumps. Beat in an eff and keep beating - scraping down as necessary - until completely incorporated, then do the same with the other egg. Beating more gently, add the flour and baking powder until you have a smooth, thick batter.

STEP 4
Using a fork, stir in the soaked dates, squishing them a bit, then pour the dates and their liquid into the batter and beat gently to mix in.

STEP 5
Pour and scrape into your prepared dish or cake tine and bake for30-35 minutes, or until a cake tested comes out clean.

STEP 6
Meanwhile, to make the sauce, melt the butter, muscovado sugar, and treacle over very low heat in a heavy-based saucepan. Once the butter's melted, stir gently until everything else is melted too. Now stir in the cream, then turn up the heat, and when it's bubbling and hot take it off the heat.

STEP 7
As soon as it's out of the one prick the cooked sponge pudding all over with a cocktail stick and pour about a quarter of the warm sauce over, easing it to the edges with a spatula so that the sponge is entirely topped with a thick sticky glaze. Put a lid on the remaining sauce in the pan to keep it warm.

STEP 8
Leave the pudding to stand for 20-30 minutes, then take to the table, with the rest of the sauce in a jug, and cream to serve