Sticky Date Pudding

Ever since I read about Sticky Date Pudding, I had a great desire to try it. Hungrygowhere had users raved about it at Marmalade Pantry. Not once but at least twice. And twice I was disappointed.

Then I saw it in the menu at Prive at Keppel which had a few cakes that I was fond of. Unfortunately, it was again disappointing.

All the puddings were too cakey. Definitely doesn't taste pudding like nor was it moist enough. You can taste the baking soda in some. No kidding.

One day I chanced up Ju's blog at The Little Teochew and had to try making it myself.

Slightly cracked top
 

The result was the BEST ever sticky date pudding I ever had. It was moist, not so sweet as I reduced the sugar drastically, warm and freshly nice. This recipe is a sure keeper!

Sticky Date Pudding
Adapted from The Little Teochew who got it from Exclusively Food
(Makes 1 6" round cake)

Ingredients
Pudding
135g deseeded dried dates
156ml water
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda/baking soda
30g butter, roughly chopped
1 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
94g self-raising flour
75g brown sugar (I used only 40g)

Butterscotch sauce
92ml whipping cream
82g firmly packed brown sugar (I used only 55g)
75g butter, chopped
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Method
Pudding

1. Place dates and water in a small saucepan over high heat. When the mixture starts to boil, add bicarbonate of soda and 30g butter, and remove from the heat. Stir and then set aside for 25 minutes (the butter will melt during this time).
2. Preheat oven to 180°C
3. Grease a 6" diameter cake tin and line the base and side with baking paper.
4. Place cooled date mixture in a food processor. Pulse mixture a few times to form a chunky paste. (You can simply mash it with a fork if you wish to have chunkier dates in your cake) 
5. Add eggs and vanilla to date mixture and pulse a couple of times until just combined. 
6. Stir flour and brown sugar together in a medium bowl. Use the back of the spoon to break up any lumps of brown sugar. Add date mixture to the flour mixture and gently fold the ingredients together until just combined.
7. Pour batter into prepared tin. If, when baking, the pudding starts to overbrown, loosely cover it with greaseproof paper.
8. Bake the pudding for about 50-60 minutes or until it springs back when lightly pressed in the center. A thin-bladed knife or wooden skewer inserted into the center of the pudding should come out without any batter attached.
9. Leave to cool for 10minutes on a rack

Butterscotch sauce

1. Melt all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until mixture thickens. Make sure the sugar does not burn.
2. Leave to cool slightly.

Assemble

1. Using a skewer, pierce several deep holes in the pudding. Pour about half of the hot butterscotch sauce over the pudding. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.
2. Serve the pudding with additional butterscotch sauce and ice cream. :D