With several years of baking experience, I have made several date puddings successfully. I found this version of this dessert quite appealing as it calls for the addition of ginger and lovely spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. This recipe is quite versatile as the pudding can be baked in individual portions, in a springform cake pan, or in a bundt pan as I did. You will need to adjust the baking times in the oven for individual portions. A portion of the sauce can be saved for later so that it warms the cake as well when it’s time to serve. This allows individuals to add their own desired amount of caramel sauce. This elegant dessert is very simple to prepare and will make you quite the popular baker yourself.
The Recipe
I would like to thank Kylie Flavell for making this delectable dessert from her website. According to Kylie, the amount of sugar used for this recipe can be adjusted if you prefer a little less. This is due to the fact there is already a good amount of sweetness in the dates and the sauce. If you are interested in more wonderful recipes like this, please feel free to check out more of her tasty recipes.
The Ingredients
For the Cake:
1 1/2 Cups Dates
1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Ginger
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 – 2/3 Cup of Boiling Water
7 Tablespoons Butter for Cake (Plus a Little Extra to Grease the Pan if You Aren’t Using Baking Paper)
2/3 Cup Sugar for Cake
2 Eggs
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Bean Paste or Vanilla Extract
Zest of an Orange
1/2 Cups of flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
3 Shakes of Cinnamon
1 Shake of Nutmeg
For the Sauce:
9 Tablespoons Butter
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2/3 Cup Heavy Cream
A Pinch of Salt
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preparing the Dates
Chop and pit dates and place in a bowl. Finely chop ginger and add to the dates. Then add the baking soda, cover with boiling water, and leave the dates to soften for an hour.
Later on, check on the dates and see if they can be mashed into a thick textured consistency with a fork. If find that they are still too hard, you can lightly blend them in a blender, allowing several date pieces to remain. Make sure not to remove the water, you will need it to blend the dates, and also it has the baking soda in it that you need for the baking process.
Preheat the Oven
Grease or line your bundt pan with baking paper and preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
Mixing the Ingredients for the Date Pudding
Cream butter and sugar until pale and soft in a mixing bowl or with a wooden spoon. Add the two eggs, one at a time, beating well between each one. Add the vanilla and orange zest and mix. Next, sift the flour, baking powder, and spices into the batter. Gently fold the date mixture into the batter.
Pour into your bundt pan and cook for 30-40 minutes or until your cake becomes fragrant and just lightly golden.
Making the Sauce
In a medium saucepan, simmer the butter, brown sugar, and cream, stirring occasionally until it bubbles into caramel. At this point, add a pinch of salt. If you find that your sugar doesn’t dissolve and crystallizes and the butter separates, something has gone wrong and you should start over again rather than adding more butter and hoping it will come okay.
Now for the Finishing Touches
After removing the cake from the oven, it will be fragile at this point. Just leave it to cool and firm up before removing it from the pan. Meanwhile, if you would like, you can go ahead and drizzle the sauce through the cake, you can skewer little holes into the cake and then pour over some of the sauce so that it infuses the whole pudding. I skipped this step and just poured some of the sauce over the top while saving some to serve on the side for later.
If you didn’t add the sauce inside the cake and you are ready to serve, just taste the sauce after it has cooled and check to see if it needs more salt to your liking. You can gently reheat it and pour it into a pitcher to serve on the table. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (as I prefer) and extra sauce.
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