Self-saucing Sticky Date Pudding Traybake

 

Winter  in the Southern Hemisphere is the time to treat yourself to an indulgent style pudding. However it is still delicious in Summer.

Baked Puddings are such Winter Warmers, and Sticky Date Pudding is at the top of the list for me. This recipe takes a shortcut though by producing it's own delicious caramel sauce during the cooking time, no need to cook the sauce separately, making it a cinch to put together if catering for a group of people. Each step can be prepared in advance, and then assembled and placed in the oven to cook while the main course is being eaten, which is the best way to approach cooking a self saucing pudding.

I want this recipe on my blog so I can find it again easily as I will definitely be making this again.  I found it in a Woolworths supermarket recipe book which I collect every month but recipes can be difficult to find again, so here it is, slightly modified.

Recipe Serves 8

Self-saucing Sticky Date Pudding 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups pitted dates, roughly chopped to an even size

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

80 g butter, cut into 1 cm cubes

2 free range eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup boiling water

icing sugar to dust

Whipped or double thick cream, to serve

Caramel sauce

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

50 g butter, cut into 1 cm cubes

1 1/2 cups boiling water

Method:

Cake Batter:

Preheat oven to 180 deg. C/160 deg. C fan forced. 

Cooking time: Lightly grease a baking dish, approx. 20 cm x 27 cm., and 5 cm deep. Baking this in a metal tray, may make the cooking time faster in the oven, I used a ceramic tray as my metal ones were too small or too large and it took exactly 35 mins in a fan forced oven. I would check it after 30 minutes.

Place dates and butter in a small dessert size bowl. Add the bicarbonate of soda and 1/2 cup of boiling water. Cover the bowl with a plate and leave to stand for 10 minutes and then stir to ensure the butter is melted.

In a large bowl, place the brown sugar and the eggs, and whisk these up until well combined. Stir in the cool date mixture, then fold in the sifted flour.

Pour the batter into your greased tray and leave to rest while you make the caramel sauce.

Caramel Sauce:

To make the caramel sauce, place the butter and brown sugar in a 1 litre jug and add 1 1/2 cups of boiling water.

Stir until the butter has melted. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Now slowly and carefully pour the liquid mixture from the jug over the back of a large metal spoon to cover the batter in your baking tray.

Bake for 35 minutes until nicely browned and pulling away from the edges of the dish, or until the pudding bounces back when gently touched. 

To serve, dust with icing sugar and a splosh of cream.

Serve immediately.

Leftovers will still be delicious warmed up the following day, however the caramel sauce may have soaked up into the cake.

Mr. HRK just loved this pudding. He said it reminded him of a Mexican plum pudding which we discovered many years ago at a little Mexican restaurant in Milton in Brisbane, near the XXXX brewery, my Brisbane friends will know where that is.  When we were both living in Brisbane, I was working but Mr. HRK was a student, and we used to go to this little restaurant just to eat the dessert, it was so good. The recipe stayed with the Grandmother of the family who owned the restaurant, or so the story goes and was never given out. Anyway sadly the restaurant is no longer there and the recipe has possibly disappeared as well, so Mr. HRK was giving me lots of suggestions last night on how this pudding could be modified slightly to replicate the Mexican Plum Pudding which he still remembers. We are working on it.  So Dear Readers, would you go to a restaurant just to eat their dessert if it was that good? Nowadays we would go for the whole meal, but back then we were saving money to get married. It was the late 70's, say no more. 

Hoping you can all enjoy the weekend, with some nice things to eat, even in lockdown. We are not taking anything for granted here in Queensland.

Warm wishes,

Pauline