In an homage to my new nephew Charlie who was born in London, UK on December 23rd I’m going to be posting some of my favourite British recipes this month.
Nothing to do with food but one of our fave places in the UK – The Lake District where this recipe originates
I’m a bit of an anglophile anyways, have lived in London for a few years, and have plenty of British cookbooks to inspire me. For those who think British cooking is all about boiled potatoes and overcooked vegetables I think you have to shake off those misconceptions and check out what is going on the UK today.
More Lake District & the climb up Helvellyn
I’ve always LOVED sticky toffee pudding. It seemed that it would be so hard to make though. The caramel sauce, the mysterious moist cake… I don’t know why I never tried it before. But it turns out it’s dead easy, and you can really whip it up quick. The sauce is just four ingredients boiled together for a while. It’s nice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but I’ll gorge it down on it’s own. I’ve already made it twice in the last couple weeks and it’s definitely on my permanent repertoire. This recipe is from The Great British Book of Baking, and the only thing I’ve changed is using demerara sugar instead of muscovado as that’s what I have on hand, and I think it must be easier to find in Canada. It’s been a few years since I tried the British version but in my mind they taste very similar.
Whip it up – I promise you won’t be sorry!
- 175g stoned chopped dates
- 1tsp baking soda
- 300ml boiling water
- 75g unsalted butter, softened
- 175g super fine sugar
- 2 eggs
- 175g self-raising flour
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Sauce:
- 200g muscovado sugar
- 100g unsalted butter
- 150ml heavy cream
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Grease an 8"/20cm square pan with butter
- Put the chopped dates and baking soda in a frying pan. Pour over the boiling water and simmer for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 15 minutes.
- Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and beat.
- Add the flour and beat until just combined
- Add the date mixture and vanilla extract. Stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
- Pour into your prepared baking tin.
- Bake for about 35minutes or until springy to the touch and a skewer comes out clean.
- To make the sauce:
- Put the sugar, butter, cream and vanilla extract in a small pot.
- Heat until the butter is melted stirring often.
- Bring to a boil and let simmer until thickened - around 5 minutes.
- Optional:
- Spoon some of the syrup over the cake and spread over so the surface is coated. Return to the oven for a few minutes so it turns sticky.
- Serve with sauce and a scoop of ice cream if you wish.
Michelle Little
Writer & Photographer
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