Saturday, July 02, 2011

Sticky Date Puddings

Cinzia from Cindystar is busily hosting both the English and Italian editions of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I've got a date with Medjool Dates.

medjool dates© by Haalo


These are a little different from the Medjool dates we've been used to - they are about half the size and are sold pitted and believe me when I say this, you need to fight every urge not to just gobble them up as they are. The are sweet and soft and chewy.

So what should I do with these dainty dates - make Sticky Date Puddings of course!

Rather than use my regular recipe I've decided to try a different method I recently spotted in February's issue of BBC Good Food magazine. It's by Gregg Wallace and what particularly got my attention is that it avoids the need of soaking the dates in bicarb and to be honest, I think the end result is far better. You could say the proof is in the pudding!

sticky date puddings© by Haalo


Sticky Date Puddings
[Makes 6 small pudding]

75 grams dates, stoned, roughly chopped
75mls water
75 grams butter, softened and cut into cubes
50 grams soft brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
140 grams self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Toffee Sauce
⅔ cup cream
75 grams soft brown sugar
25 grams butter


Prepare the dates:

Put the dates and water into a small saucepan and place over a low heat. Let it come to a simmer and cook for a few minutes until the dates have softened and are started to collapse. Remove from the heat and stir to form a rough paste. Set this aside to cool before using.

Make the pudding:

Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat the eggs in, a little at a time being careful not to curdle the mixture. Sift the flour and baking powder together before adding it to the mixture - gently fold it through before adding the prepared dates. Give it a gentle stir to ensure it's been well incorporated.

Butter and flour 6 x ½cup souffle dishes - fill each mould about three-quarters full.

The original recipes calls for baking these in a foil covered bain-marie - which I did with my first lot. The puddings tasted nice but where a touch dry. The second time I steamed them and I found it resulted in a lighter and fluffier textured pudding and personally, I would recommend steaming the puddings for the best result.

For these sized puddings, you'll need to steam them for around 30 minutes. If you make larger puddings, naturally, it will take longer.

sticky date puddings© by Haalo


Due to the colouring effect of the date puree, even if you steam them, they do look like they have been baked.

Make the Sauce:

Put the butter and sugar along with ⅓ cup cream into a small saucepan and place over a medium heat. Stir constantly until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat so the mixture simmers and cook for few minutes until the sauce has thickened and reduced slightly. Add the rest of the cream, stirring to incorporate - simmer for a minute and then remove from the heat. It should have look rich and glossy. The sauce can be made ahead of time and reheated when the puddings are ready to be served.

To serve:

Unmould the puddings and generously spoon over with the toffee sauce.

7 comments

  1. Love sticky date puddings. LOVE. Yours look so beautifully made, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Leaf! Must say that the toffee sauce is particularly delish, I'm going to have to stop myself from just making the sauce!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, this looks yummy - it took us AGES here in the UK to try Sticky Toffee Pudding because we didn't realize it was pseudohealthy with dates in it! We now have an excuse and photographic proof that it's going to be great!

    Happy Weekend

    ReplyDelete
  4. well, I'll have to wait until winter time to try these puddings, but will be then a nice idea for our festive dinners (maybe my b'day party?!).
    I know quite well toffee sauce is a huge temptation ... our jar is over and yesterday bought new cream to refill the fridge with a new stock! :-)
    thanks so much for participating, round up is on line:
    http://cindystarblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/whb-290-round-up-la-raccolta.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks Tanita - you are so right, they are healthy with all those dates. I must make some more ;)

    Thanks Cinzia - you've done a wonderful job again!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Haalo,

    The pudding looks amazing. If I double the ingredients will it turn out okay? I would like to make a larger serving.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Haalo,

    This is my first visit to your blog and tried your sticky date pudding recipe over the weekend. My friends and I loved the buttery and date flavour of the pudding. The degree of sweetness was just right!

    Thanks for sharing the recipe!
    Amateur Baker

    ReplyDelete

© Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once | All rights reserved.
BLOG TEMPLATE HANDCRAFTED BY pipdig