We have had a good week of gloom in NYC, dreary days and thunderous pelting rain – the kind that makes you want to cancel all your appointments and crawl back into bed with a book, let your children watch a little more TV than usual, clean out cupboards and rearrange furniture. Of course we have been spending alot of quality time in the kitchen and today we made these.
Sticky Date Puddings have been a favourite of mine since I lived in Darlinghurst (Sydney, Australia). Darlinghurst back then was very rock and roll – and I wasn’t, but that was okay. I had my little one bedroom apartment with barely any furniture, a miniscule kitchen with my heart shaped Le Creuset pot, a table setting for one and no table and a bar fridge whose contents boasted a whole bottle of champagne and the occasional piece of fruit. Life was pretty peachy – I was on an adventure of some sort.
I had lots of little rituals – some of them good for me and some probably not so good, but one of the more wholesome ones was that on Monday nights I would go to a little bistro called Morgans with a good book and order a latte with a sticky date pudding. It was a heavenly little habit of mine and one I relished in because that sticky date pudding was almost the sweetest thing in my week.
I eventually moved out of Darlinghurst and in attempts to recreate my Monday night delight, I spent a good couple of years trying out different recipes. I wanted a pudding that was sweet but not overly sweet, had enough dates to warrant its name with a texture that was almost damp rather than dry. Perfecting the sauce was crucial because we all know a successful sticky date pudding is dependant on a good sauce.
So I did all of that and here you have it. I certainly don’t get any time alone to indulge in a coffee and a book these days but I do get some silence whilst my daughters are devouring these (with serious intent) and that is gold.
Ingredients
230 grams/8.1 ounces fresh dates, pitted and chopped (around 12 dates)
250 ml water
1 teaspoon baking soda
100 grams/3.5 ounces unsalted butter, softened
175 grams/6.2 ounces caster sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
150 grams/5.3 ounces plain (all purpose) flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
to serve: thick (double/heavy) cream
Butterscotch Sauce
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar
¾ cup heavy whipping cream (not ultra-pasteurized)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or more if you wish)
Preheat oven to 180c/360f and grease six x 1-cup capacity dariole moulds (I used pop over moulds) with butter .
Place the dates and 250ml water into a pan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda – the mixture will begin to bubble up. Place in a blender, pulse a few times to break up the mixture and set aside to cool.
To make sauce, melt the butter in a heavy based saucepan over a moderate heat and add brown sugar all at once, cook over a low heat for 3 minutes stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Bring the heat right down and stir in the cream, mixing until the cream and sugar mixture are uniform, then bring heat back up and simmer sauce for 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. Cool and add vanilla and salt to taste. Set aside.
Meanwhile, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. Fold the flour, salt, baking powder and the date mixture alternatively into the butter mixture. Pour pudding mixture into dariole moulds and bake for 25 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the oven and let sit for 2 minutes, then prick the top of the puddings (still in the moulds) with a skewer. Pour a little sauce in the top of each mould and sit for 5 minutes to allow the sauce to seep into the puddings. Keep in mind that the more sauce the pudding absorbs, the sweeter and stickier it will become.
To serve, turn the warm puddings out onto a platter and drizzle with some more of the sauce. Serve with thick cream on the side.
If the pudding needs to be reheated, cover it with foil and place it in a 150°C oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.
Notes: The butterscotch sauce is so fantastic that I usually make double the quantity and save the remaining sauce (some times only a little) to spoon over ice cream.
Source: adapted and referenced from Neil Perry, All Recipes, Epicurious, Australian Treats, Stephanie Alexander and Shuna Lyndon
© 2011, Michelle. All rights reserved.
