This is perfect to follow a Sunday roast dinner when you want to snuggle by the fire and can even be jazzed up with a naughty dash of spiced rum for a Christmas desert. Just a warning, I've often found myself making double the toffee sauce as it somehow seems to disappear while cooking!
Prep 15 minutes | Cook 45 minutes | Serves 12
INGREDIENTS
220g soft dates, pitted and chopped
175ml boiling water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
140g light brown sugar
75g butter, softened
2 eggs
175g self-raising flour
75g walnuts, roughly chopped
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Toffee Sauce:
100g butter
200g light brown muscovado sugar
200ml double cream
1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
Optional to serve:
Custard
Vanilla ice cream
METHOD
1. Heat oven to 170C fan and grease a 23cm baking dish with butter.
2. Put the dates in a bowl, add the vanilla extract, bicarb and pour over the boiling water. Give it a stir, then leave to stand for 10 minutes to cool. When the dates have softened, either mash with a fork or transfer the mix to a food processor to blend to a paste.
3. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until well incorporated.
Sift in the flour, salt and spices and gently fold through. Finally fold in the date mixture and the nuts.
5. Transfer to the baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer test comes out clean. Check after 25 minutes and if it's starting to brown too quickly, cover with a sheet of foil.
6. Make the sauce by placing the butter, sugar and cream in a saucepan over a low heat. Whisk as the butter melts, until you have a smooth sauce. Turn up the heat until hot and bubbling for 2 minutes, then take off the heat. Stir through the sea salt flakes. Gently reheat when ready to serve.
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