This recipe makes enough to fill a good sized baking tray (30cm x 30cm) 4 cm deep (Yumm!!!)
Sticky Date Pudding
340g Roughly chopped dates
600mls boiling water
2 teaspns bicarb soda
340g self raising flour
125g butter
340g castor sugar
1.5 teaspn vanilla essence
4 eggs
Put dates in a bowl, add hot water and bicarb. Set aside
Melt butter in a pot, add castor sugar and stir together
Add eggs one at a time stirring each one in before the next
Fold in flour (don't overmix)
Add and mix in dates, water and bicarb.
Add Vanilla essences
Preheat oven to 150-180 C (slow cook)
Bake in a greased deepish tray for 45 - 60 min depending on oven (use skewer test to tell when cooked. It is meant to be moist!!! Slightly undercook than overcook is best)
Allow to cool before cutting into slabs. Place slabs into large icecream container. 4 slabs/layer with grease proof paper between. Approx 4 layers per container depending on thickness. Freeze immediately to keep for star party
Butterscotch Caramel Sauce
150g butter
1-2 cups Brown sugar
0.75 cups cream
Mix together in a pot on stove until rolling boil (not rapid boil!!) for 1-2 min. Stir continuously while cooking and boiling. Turn heat off. Allow to cool sufficiently to pour into take away containers. Chill and keep covered in fridge. Sauce may crystalize but will be fine after reheating to rolling boil prior to serving.
Serving suggestions:
Thaw slabs prior to reheating. Reheat in microwave or small oven or under griller or by any means available (on the end of a stick over a fire if necessary). Reheat sauce to rolling boil (remember to stir! ), preferably in a pot, not a microwave (very messy to clean up out of a microwave if it boils too strongly
). I like to leave the sauce out of the fridge for an hour or so before reheating so that it is softened before heating. Less chance of it burning on the bottom of the pan. Pour caramel sauce over individual serves of SDP when heated. Then top with BOTH cream and icecream (it's the only way to go
)
Enjoy