Description
Make a moist date sponge cake topped with a rich, homemade toffee sauce. This is a classic British dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup pitted dates, chopped
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the Sauce: 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup golden syrup or light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour an 8×8 inch baking pan.
- Place the chopped dates in a bowl. Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water and pour it over the dates. Let this mixture stand for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Stir in the milk and vanilla extract. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Gently stir the date and water mixture into the batter. The batter will be thin.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- While the cake bakes, make the sauce. Combine the heavy cream, brown sugar, butter, and golden syrup in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture simmers. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Once the cake is out of the oven, poke holes all over the top using a fork or skewer.
- Pour half of the warm toffee sauce evenly over the hot cake. Let it soak in for 10 minutes.
- Cut the pudding into squares. Serve warm with extra toffee sauce poured over each serving.
Notes
- You can prepare the sauce up to two days ahead. Reheat it gently before serving.
- For a richer flavor, substitute the milk with buttermilk.
- If you prefer a darker cake, use black treacle instead of golden syrup in the sauce.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 35 min
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 550
- Sugar: 65g
- Sodium: 250mg
- Fat: 32g
- Saturated Fat: 19g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13g
- Trans Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 65g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 110mg