Talk about going out in style. This was my last pudding before starting a New Year health regime and not being much use myself when it comes to baking, or puddings in general for that matter, I exploited a young A-Level cookery student from the UK who was spending the New Year break with us.
Our friend Callum is a pretty nifty baker, so I should really be calling this weekās article Callumās column, but in truth neither of us can take credit for this dish as the recipe comes from British TV chef James Martin.
But our house guest had a few tricks up his sleeve, tweaking the recipe slightly, making the cake moister and the sauce more luscious ā the result was excellent. This is a pudding best served warm.
Adapted from James Martinās recipe on the BBC food website:
Ingredients
For 6 individual pudding servings
ā¢ 55g unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing)
ā¢ 170g demerara sugar
ā¢ 2 tablespoons golden syrup (changed from 1 on the original recipe)
ā¢ 4 tablespoons black treacle (changed from 2 on the original recipe)
ā¢ 2 eggs
ā¢ 200g self-raising flour
ā¢ 200g pitted dates
ā¢ 290ml boiling water
ā¢ 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
ā¢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the sauce
ā¢ 400ml double cream (changed from 110ml on the original recipe)
ā¢ 55g diced butter
ā¢ 1 tablespoon black treacle (changed from 2 on the original)
ā¢ 3 tablespoons golden syrup (changed from 1 on the original recipe)
ā¢ 55g dark Moscavado sugar
Preparation
1) Preheat the oven to 200Āŗc and grease six individual ramekins with butter
2) Cream the butter and sugar together in a food processor until pale and fluffy. Add the golden syrup, treacle and eggs, a little at a time, and blend until smooth. Add the flour and blend, at a low speed, until well combined. Transfer to a bowl.
3) Blend the dates and boiling water in a food processor to a smooth purƩe. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda and vanilla.
4) Pour the date mixture into the pudding batter and stir until well combined.
5) Pour the mixture into the moulds (filling to around 3/4) and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is springy and golden-brown. If the cake rises above the height of the mould slice off the top to create a flat base.
6) To make the sauce, heat all of the ingredients in a pan, stirring occasionally, until boiling.
7) To serve, remove the puddings from the moulds and place onto serving plates. Pour over the sauce and serve with vanilla ice cream or chilled crĆØme anglaise.
By PATRICK STUART patrick.stuart@open-media.net
Sticky toffee pudding
