Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

Submitted by John D. Kerr

Sticky Date Pudding is a British classic - rich and incredibly delicious. Really more a moist cake than a pudding, it is easy to make and never fails to impress. One of our 2012 Facebook Holiday Dessert Recipe Contest winners!

Time required: 30 min. active

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients:

Pudding:

•    1 ¼ cups seeded, dried dates
•    1 ¼ cups boiling water
•    1 tsp baking soda
•    1/3 stick Straus Family Creamery butter, chopped
•    ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
•    2 eggs, lightly beaten
•    1 cup self-rising flour (all-purpose will do just as well)

 

   Butterscotch Sauce:

•    ¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
•    1 cup Straus Family Creamery heavy cream
•    ¾ stick Straus Family Creamery butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease deep 8” round cake pan; line base with parchment paper.
2. Combine dates and boiling water in food processor or blender. Stir in baking soda; cover with lid and let stand 5 minutes.
3. Process or blend date mixture with butter and brown sugar until pureed. Add eggs and flour, blend until just combined.
4. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake uncovered for about 55 minutes (cover with foil the last 10 minutes if pudding starts to over-brown).
5. Prepare Butterscotch Sauce: Combine ingredients in medium saucepan; stir over low heat until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened. Don't thicken the sauce too much as it needs to be absorbed into the pudding.
6. When ready, take pudding out of the oven and let stand 10 minutes. Pierce holes in the cake with a skewer and drizzle 1/3 - 1/2 of the warm butterscotch sauce into the holes (sauce cannot be thick). Serve remaining sauce on the side.

 

Serving suggestion: This pudding is especially good served warm with sliced fresh strawberries and thickened cream or vanilla ice cream.