By Bed Threads Recipes 21.12.2024

Charlotte Ree's Sticky Date Pudding With Rich Butterscotch Sauce

Pudding so good, it can cure homesickness.

Welcome to Put on a Spread, a recipe series that takes you inside the kitchens – and dining rooms – of some of our favourite home cooks. For this instalment author, baker and recipe developer, Charlotte Ree, shares her homesick cure of sticky date pudding with rich butterscotch sauce.

Back in 2020, one of the best parts of lockdown for me was the chance to get to know – and build brilliant friendships with – my neighbours. (Admittedly, those friendships mostly involved me baking and feeding them copious amounts of cake. Sometimes, I even baked by request!)

This sticky date pudding was created for a homesick Scotsman's birthday, served with a deliciously rich butterscotch sauce and topped with a dollop of cream.

It’s a recipe that can be mixed, baked, and served in under an hour. The pudding is best served warm, but don’t worry if you’re short on time and need to make it ahead – just reheat it and serve with warm butterscotch sauce, or pop it in the microwave.

Ingredients

Pudding

300g pitted dates, chopped
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, sifted
375ml boiling water
80g brown sugar
100g butter, at room temperature
3 large eggs, at room temperature
200g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Double cream, to serve

Butterscotch sauce

70g butter
250g light brown sugar
250ml pouring cream
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease a 38 cm x 25 cm x 3 cm high slice tray or 20cm square baking tray with baking spray.
Place dates, bicarb soda and boiling water in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and the sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift over the flour and baking powder and mix until combined. Add your date mixture and beat until just combined.
Pour into your prepared baking tray and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the pudding comes out clean.
While your pudding is baking, make your butterscotch sauce by combining the butter, vanilla and sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat. Slowly add your cream, stirring to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken slightly. Set aside.
Remove pudding from the oven and leave to cool slightly for 5 minutes. Then pour half of your butterscotch sauce over the pudding and leave for another 5 minutes.
To serve, portion squares of pudding from your baking tray. Serve warm with a drizzling of butterscotch sauce, and spoonful of double cream.