Sticky Toffee Pudding New York Times
Source: New York Times Oct 17, 2010
Ingredients
- 8 oz. pitted dates - preferably medjools, chopped
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- 2 cups firmly packed dark muscovado, or dark brown sugar
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- unsweetened whipped cream, creme fraiche or Greek yogurt, for serving
Method
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan. Simmer the dates and water together in a medium saucepan for 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the baking soda. Let stand 20 minutes.
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Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate, large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Stir in the flour, then the date mixture until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven until a tester comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
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Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a 2-quart saucepan bring all the ingredients to a boil (watching carefully to make sure it doesn’t boil over). Lower the heat and continue to boil gently, stirring occasionally, until thickened to the consistency of honey, 8 to 10 minutes.
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When the pudding is done, remove it to a cooling rack and with a skewer poke holes all over the top. Carefully pour 1 cup of the warm toffee sauce over the pudding. Let sit until absorbed, about 20 minutes. Slide a knife around the pudding to loosen it from the pan, then invert onto a cake plate. Poke a few more holes into the bottom (now the top) and drizzle over another ½ cup sauce. Let the pudding stand another 10 minutes.
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Cut the warm pudding into squares. Serve with an additional drizzle of sauce and a spoonful of whipped cream, creme fraiche or Greek yogurt. If you’re lucky enough to have leftover sauce, it is fantastic over ice cream.