Sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce

These sticky little puddings will keep for a couple of days 

wrapped in cling-film in the fridge. 

Return them to room temperature and make the sauce 

when you are ready to serve.

Serves: 6

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

You will need:

200g fresh dates, stoned and finely chopped

175g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp Camp coffee essence

100ml milk

75g butter

150g caster sugar

2 eggs

Sifted icing sugar and chopped fresh dates to decorate

[See also: Crunchy blackberry crumble recipe]

For the sauce:

45g butter

8 tbsp soft brown sugar

200ml whipping cream

1 tbsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ gas mark 4, 

and grease 6 x 175ml moulds or teacups. 

Pour 175 ml boiling water over the chopped dates 

and set aside to cool. 

Sift together the flour and baking soda. 

Add the vanilla and coffee essences to the milk.

2. Cream together the butter and caster sugar with an electric beater 

until light and fluffy. 

Add the eggs, a little at a time, beating well between each addition.

3. Fold in the flour mixture and flavoured milk by hand in alternate batches, 

then pour in the dates and their soaking liquid. 

Ladle the mixture into the moulds, then stand them on a baking sheet 

and bake in the centre of the oven for about 30 minutes, 

until they are just firm and starting to pull away from the sides of the moulds. 

Remove the puddings from the oven, turn them out on to a wire rack and leave to cool.

4. To make the sauce, heat the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat. 

When the butter is bubbling, add the sugar and stir together over heat for about three minutes 

until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is foamy and bubbling. 

Carefully pour in the cream, then turn down the heat and gently stir together. 

Boil for a further one to two minutes then add the vanilla essence. Leave to cool slightly.

5. To serve, ladle a spoonful of sauce over the top of each pudding. 

Decorate with chopped fresh dates and sifted icing sugar, and serve with whipped cream.