Sticky Toffee Pud

This was a recipe that was given to me by Okey-dokey and it is fab. We had it for Christmas day and then I made another for New Year when my parents came to stay:

Ingredients
175g (6oz) dates stoned and chopped
300 ml (10fl oz) water
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
50g (2oz) unsalted butter
175g (6oz) caster sugar
2 eggs beaten
175g (6 oz) self-raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

300 ml (10 fl oz) double cream
59g (2oz) Demerara sugar
2 teaspoons black treacle


Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180oC/350oF/gas 4 and grease a 2 lb loaf tin lined) - it was also suggested in the recipe that is work on a 28 x 18cm (11 x 7 inch) baking tin.

Boil the dates in the water for about 5 mins until soft (does not take long as I use the ready to eat dates), I did these in a bowl in the microwave then add the bicarbonate of soda. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the eggs and beat well. Mix in the dates mixture, flour and vanilla essence then pour into the prepared tin. You don’t need to wait until the dates cool down. The mixture looks quite runny but don’t worry. Cook in a pre-heated oven for about 30-40 mins depending on size of tin, until just firm to the touch, it was more like 40 mins for me.

The actual cake will serve around 8 I reckon and the sauce 4 to 5 - as you can see we added a blob of clotted cream on ours. It freezes really well and keeps moist for a long time. I just re heat it in the microwave. It is a nice cake on its own and is low in fat! If you intend to serve 8 you will need to double the quantity of sauce.