The greatest British pudding ever made. Dense date sponge drenched in toffee sauce. Serve with ice cream and prepare to be very happy.
A note from us
The Great British Bake Off method soaks the dates in strong black tea instead of plain water — it adds a subtle depth that is hard to identify but you would miss it. Try it at least once. Serve with proper hot custard — this is the traditional British way and far superior to cream for this pudding.
What you need 🛒
How to make it 👨🍳
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Grease a 20 cm square baking tin.
Put the Medjool dates pitted in a bowl and pour over the Boiling water. Add the Bicarbonate of soda and stir — it will foam. Leave for 10 minutes until the dates are completely soft, then mash to a rough paste.
Beat the Butter and Dark brown sugar together until pale and fluffy — about 3 minutes.
Add the Eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.
Stir in the Vanilla extract, Black treacle, and the date paste — the treacle deepens the colour and adds a subtle bitterness that balances the sweetness.
Fold in the Self raising flour until just combined.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 25–30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
While the pudding bakes, make the toffee sauce: gently heat the Double cream, Golden syrup, and a knob of the Butter in a small saucepan, stirring until smooth and glossy. Do not boil it.
Pour the warm toffee sauce over the pudding straight from the oven and serve immediately with Vanilla ice cream.
