Sticky Toffee Pudding

The mixture before being put in the oven...

the finished product... hot and moist.

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream

Another Scottish food that I love - Sticky Toffee Pudding! It's so popular that wherever you eat, whether in a posh restaurant or a simple coffee shop, you will always find Sticky Toffee Pudding in the menu. Believe me, this can rival any chocolate pudding out there! When I first decided to bake this at home, I was very surprised to learn that the main ingredient is Dates! I used them before for my Food for the God's recipe which was another favourite dessert in my family so I was very excited to bake this pudding for the first time a year or so ago. But looking at different recipes. Unfortunately I couldnt find the one I like, most of those I found says to leave the dates soaking in warm water for a few hours or overnight. As I said before, I dont have the patience of a saint when it comes to cooking. So I carried on looking for my perfect recipe and found one made by James Martin. Boiling water, dates, process in food blender and voila! Ready to use. Perfect! So off I go and made them, lo and behold they were gorgeously moist and yummy! I didnt have treacle in my cupboard which was one of the unique ingredients here, so I replaced them with golden syrup instead and it was still a success. This recipe had introduced me to treacle and dark muscovado sugar, two ingredients I have never come across before.

Anyway, as you can tell I love James' recipe and have been baking these on and off in my house for the last year. I did try treacle on my next baking and indeed it made a big difference in the taste. But I still maintain that golden syrup alone will do the job if you're not a fan of treacle. Also, dont leave the pudding longer than it should be in the oven as it will dry out and it always taste better when its moist and "sticky". A lot of the times, I would tweak the recipe to suit my own taste, but this is one of those that I didn't change a lot except not having the treacle on my first try as I didnt know what it was! he he Here is James' Martin recipe taken from the BBC Food website:

Preparation time less than 30 mins

Ingredients
55g/2oz butter
170g/6oz demerara sugar
2 tbsp black treacle
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 eggs
200g/7oz self-raising flour
200g/7oz pitted dates
290ml/10fl oz boiling water
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp vanilla extract

For the sauce:
110ml/4fl oz double cream
55g/2oz butter, diced
55g/2oz dark muscovado sugar
2 tbsp black treacle
1 tbsp golden syrup

For the moulds:
30g/1oz soft butter
30g/1oz flour

Method
1. Butter the moulds and dust with flour and preheat oven 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Using a food processor cream the butter and sugar together.
Slowly add the golden syrup, treacle and eggs. Continue mixing until the mixture
looks smooth, then turn down to a slow speed and add the flour. Mix until
everything is well combined.
3. Add the boiling water to the dates and tip into a blender. Secure the lid firmly
and blend to a purée.
4. Add the bicarbonate of soda and vanilla.
5. Pour this into the batter while it is still hot and stir well.
6. Pour into the moulds and bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops are just firm to
the touch.
7. Make the sauce: simply place all the ingredients in a pan, bring to the boil,
stirring a few times and then remove from the heat. Put to one side until ready to
use.
8. Remove the puddings from the moulds and place on plate. Coat with the
warmed sauce and serve with good vanilla ice cream.