Sticky toffee pudding - the ultimate indulgence

When it comes to desserts it does not get much better than this, a freshly steamed sticky toffee pudding smothered in lashings of hot butterscotch sauce. It is calorific, indulgent and fabulous. 

I have spent a lot of time perfecting this recipe and I think I have managed it with this incarnation, the pudding itself has been steamed and not baked making it lighter, softer and more delicate. The butterscotch is rich, sweet and satisfyingly sticky. I only make this for special occasions and with mother’s day coming up I thought this would be great after Sunday lunch to finish off the meal. The recipe will make 12 individual puddings and enough butterscotch to drown them all.

for the puddings

300g dates

330g boiling water

2tsp bicarbonate of soda

120g soft butter

120g sugar

4 eggs

300g flour

2tsp baking powder

Place the dates and the bicarbonate of soda in a bowl and pour the boiling water over them and leave to one side to allow the water to absorb into the dates. In a mixer cream the butter and sugar together and add one egg at a time to the mixture, once the eggs are incorporated sive in the flour and baking powder and mix well. Once the dates are cool, place them in a blender with the water and blend them into a puree, incorporate this into the mixture. When you have this done they are ready to go into the dariole mould but they will need a little attention to ensure that you can get the pudding out with ease when they are cooked. First I would always grease them well with a little butter, I would also place a small circle of greaseproof baking paper in the bottom of each one. Now you can place your mixture into the mould but only filling it 2/3 of the way up. Now cover each mould with a small square of tin foil that has also been greased with a small amount of butter. Pre-heat an oven to 150c and place the moulds into a deep roasting tin. Pour boiling water in the roasting tin until the water is half way up the moulds and cover the tin with more tin foil, Place in the oven for 45 minutes.

When cooked simply take the tin foil off the top and pull the puddings away from the sides and give them a tap and they should just fall out.

For the butter scotch

200g caster sugar

75ml water

100g butter

500ml double cream

place the sugar in a heavy bottomed pan and add the water to it (when making a caramel the addition of water will cause it to take a little longer but it will ensure an even colour throughout the caramel and stop it burning in patches) and place the pan on a high heat, let the caramel form natural and only stir the mixture when you see the first signs of colour in the caramel (if you stir the mixture before then crystals can appear and if this happens then you will have to start again). Let the caramel form into a medium colour (about the same colour as a walnut) then quickly whisk in the butter and the cream whilst keeping the pan over the heat, once the butter and cream is incorporated remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly and use as desired.