Prep 20min (+25min cooling time)Bake 30minMakes 8 serves

Hailing from the 70s and reaching peak popularity in the 90s, sticky toffee pudding now sits alongside the likes of lemon delicious, rice pudding and chocolate fondants as a classic. Sweet, sticky and completely addictive, it is always a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients

200g fresh dates, pitted and chopped
250ml (1 cup) water
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
150g (¾ cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
2 eggs
150g (1 cup) self-raising flour
Cream or vanilla ice cream, to serve

Toffee sauce
100g unsalted butter, cubed
200g (1 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
250ml (1 cup) pouring cream

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 18 x 28cm shallow cake tin with melted butter and line the base and two long sides with one piece of baking paper, allowing the paper to overhang the sides.
2. Place the dates and water in a small saucepan, bring to the boil over medium heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until pulpy. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda and then set aside for 20 minutes or until cooled to room temperature.
3. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar in a medium bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Use a large metal spoon or spatula to fold in the cooled date mixture and then the flour until just combined.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
5. Meanwhile, to make the toffee sauce, put the butter, sugar and cream in a medium saucepan and stir over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer for 3 minutes.
6. Remove the pudding from the oven and pour a quarter of the hot toffee sauce over. Set aside for 5 minutes. Remove the warm pudding from the tin, cut into portions and serve drizzled with the remaining warm toffee sauce and accompanied by cream or ice-cream.

This recipe is from Anneka's SBS Food online column, Bakeproof: Comfort Puddings. CLICK HERE for more Bakeproof recipes.

Photography by Alan Benson.