Icky Sticky Toffee Pudding

So, I have been very blessed to have great neighbors here in England. Right next door to us live Nigel and May. They are empty nesters and have been so kind to us. If we ever have any questions about how things are done here, we always ask May. She is actually from Scotland, but has been here for most of her life, I think.



I've talked to her a bit about food and cooking here and she has been very helpful. On Halloween day she invited me over to show me how to make Icky Sticky Toffee Pudding, which she does as a tradition on Halloween. We had a great time. She had invited a few other of her friends, most of which were twice my age, but I loved it. May had brownies and coffee for everyone (except me, she knows a bit about Mormons and knew I didn't drink). Most of the ladies sat and talked while May and I made the Pudding.



May and I making the pudding. All of the ladies, minus May.





The "pudding" after being baked. Me making the yummy sauce.


Icky Sticky Toffee Pudding is not really a pudding. It's more like a cake. But it is divine. What makes it icky and sticky is the yummy sauce that you put on top. We are planning to make it a Halloween tradition in our family. Although Halloween is over, you may like to give it a try. Here is the recipe for all those that are interested.

Pudding:
6 oz. dates, stoned and chopped (don't let these scare you, I'm not a date fan, but you can't tell once they're cooked in the cake)
1 tsp. bk. soda
2 oz. butter
6 oz. sugar
2 eggs
6 oz. self-rising flour (I think all-purpose would work)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
optional: 1 tsp. molasses (we did one with and one without, I think I liked the one with better)

Sauce:
7 oz. br. sugar (I have no idea how much this is, she used a scale to weigh everything)
6 TB heavy cream (It's called double cream in England, but I think it's heavy cream in the US)
4 1/2 oz. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

(This sauce she said is really good in the summer time with ice cream)

To make the pudding:

1. Grease a 7 in. square cake pan thoroughly with butter. (Do they have 7 in square pans in the states? If not, you can improvise).

2. Pour 1/2 pint of water over the dates in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for just a minute, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the baking soda and leave to stand.

3. Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs a little at a time and beat well. (We did this all by hand).

4. Carefully fold in the flour, then stir in the dates with their liquid and the 1/2 tsp. of vanilla.

5. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. You can freeze the cake after being baked and save for later. The sauce should be made to serve on the same day.

To Make the Sauce:

6. Mix the br. sugar, cream, butter and vanilla together in saucepan.

7. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 3 minutes.

8. Pour a little over the cooked pudding, then put it back into the oven for a few minutes to allow the sauce to soak in and bubble to a golden brown color. (We actually didn't do this step. It is best if you serve it warm though.)

To serve:

9. Cut the pudding into squares and serve the sauce separately. (May says for you the server to put the sauce on for those you are serving rather than let them serve their own sauce. This way you won't run out of sauce. She said she let someone serve themself once and he took all of the sauce for his piece of pudding.)

It may sound complicated, but it wasn't. I tried to give all the details to make it easier. Let me know if you have any questions. It's a super yummy recipe. I'm eager to see how it turns out using stuff in the states. If anyone tries it, let me know how it goes. Good luck!