1hr 25m
Serves ~12
Adapted from this BBC Good Food recipe; the primary difference being baking and presenting in a large tray vs individual pots.
Medjool dates are easiest to source, but Kudri and Mabroom also work well. I wouldn’t recommend Ajwa or Sukkari based on their taste and texture profiles.
Ingredients
- 225g whole medjool dates
- 175ml boiling water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 175g self-raising flour, plus extra for greasing
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 eggs
- 85g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing (pudding)
- 50g butter, cut into pieces (sauce)
- 140g demerara sugar (pudding)
- 175g muscovado sugar (sauce)
- 3 tbsp black treacle (2 tbsp for pudding, 1 tbsp for sauce)
- 100ml milk
- cream, custard or ice cream to serve
- 225ml double cream
Method
- Stone and chop 225g medjool dates quite small, put them in a bowl, then pour over 175ml boiling water.
- Leave for about 30 mins until cool and well-soaked, then mash a bit with a fork. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- Butter and flour seven mini pudding tins (each about 200ml/7fl oz) and sit them on a baking sheet. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
- While the dates are soaking, make the puddings. Mix 175g self-raising flour and 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda together and beat the 2 eggs in a separate bowl.
- Beat 85g softened butter and 140g demerara sugar together in a large bowl for a few mins until slightly creamy (the mixture will be grainy from the sugar). Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well between additions.
- Beat in 2 tbsp black treacle then, using a large metal spoon, gently fold in one-third of the flour and bicarbonate of soda mix, then half of the 100ml milk, being careful not to overbeat. Repeat until all the flour mix and all the milk is used.
- Stir the soaked dates into the pudding batter. The mix may look a little curdled at this point and will be like a soft, thick batter.
- Spoon it evenly across your baking tray and bake for 20-25 mins, until risen and firm.
- Meanwhile, put the 175g light muscovado sugar and 50g butter pieces for the sauce in a medium saucepan with half the 225ml double cream.
- Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring all the time, until the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Stir in 1 tbsp black treacle, turn up the heat slightly and let the mixture bubble away for 2-3 mins until it is a rich toffee colour, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn. Take the pan off the heat and beat in the rest of the double cream.
- Remove the tray from the oven. Allow to cool slightly then divide the tray into as many pieces as require (depending on portion size, I get between 8-12. Drizzle some of the sauce over (they’ll be even stickier if left for a day or two coated in the sauce). Preserve the rest of the sauce for reheating and serving.
- When ready to serve, heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Warm the puddings through, still covered, for 15-20 mins or until the sauce is bubbling. Serve pieces on their own, or with cream or custard.
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