Sticky toffee pudding

Sticky toffee pudding is always a good selling pudding on every restaurant menu I have ever worked with. But for some reason people seem to think that it is so hard to make. Like any thing, as long as you have a good recipe and follow the measurements of the ingredients you should have a good pudding at the end .

For the pudding mix

150g/5oz dates, stones removed, chopped
250ml/9fl oz hot water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
60g/2¼ oz butter, softened
60g/2¼ oz soft light brown sugar
2 eggs
150g/5oz self-raising flour

For the toffee sauce
200g/7oz butter
400g/14oz muscovado sugar
Vanilla , a few drops
250ml/9fl oz double cream

Preparation method
First thing get the oven turned on and preheat to 180c/370f then get the kettle on and get two blows.

In the fist bowl put your dates all chopped and de stoned, sprinkle over them the bicarbonate of soda , then when the kettle boild pour the boiling water over the dates and let it all sit for about 5 to 10 minutes

Now in the other bowl beat the butter and the sugar together so that they are fully creamed together. Then sift in the flour and mix that in and finally the eggs a little at a time . So what you end up with is a light stiff batter.

Now add the date mix and with a spatula make sure that all the date and batter mix are fully combined in to a loosed rather runny batter. You need, I find, to use a spatula to get all the stiff batter mix of the side of the bowl.

Now pore this in to a cake tin and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes till fully cooked .

For the sauce just melt the butter and the sugar together and then add the cream and bring to the boil, just add a splash of vanilla essence simmer for five minutes and it is done.

Take the pudding out of the oven and slice in to a plate and pour some of the sauce over the top.

And that is that it is not so very hard so there is nothing to worry about and every time I have made this it has worked .