86
Prep Time: 45 minutes
METHOD
- 50g chopped dates
- 5ml bicarbonate of soda
- 100ml boiling water
- 190g cake wheat flour
- 1ml salt
- 3ml baking powder
- 125g butter
- 200g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
For the Syrup
- 100g brown sugar
- 80ml water
- 30g butter
- 1ml vanilla essence
- 50ml brandy
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 180°C (non-convection oven) or 160°C (convection oven) and prepare a baking dish of approximately 15cm x 22cm x 3cm.
- Chop the dates on a chopping board and place them in a small bowl. Sprinkle the bicarbonate of soda over the dates, and then pour boiling water on just to cover them. Leave to soak and soften. You might not need the entire 100ml of water.
- Sift the cake flour, salt and baking powder together, and set aside.
- Place the butter and caster sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture is pale yellow, light and fluffy. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice during the mixing time to ensure all the sugar and butter are creamed.
- Gradually add the eggs and mix through. You will notice that the mixture will split, that is due to the incorporation of the eggs.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and fold them in. Lastly, fold in the soaked dates with the soaking liquid to make it into a soft batter consistency. If it is too stiff, add more of the water.
- Place the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 35 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Test by inserting a testing needle into the centre of the pudding. If the needle comes out clean, the pudding is baked through, if not, then add another five minutes to the baking time and test again.
- While the pudding is baking, place all the syrup ingredients into a medium-sized pot and bring it to a boil.
- Once the pudding is cooked through, pour the hot syrup over the baked sponge and leave to soak.
Serve hot or cold as desired.
