Helen Goh’s sticky date pudding with tahini butterscotch sauce (2024)

FOR THE PUDDING

• 250g pitted dates, roughly snipped with scissors

• 300ml water

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 180g self-raising flour

• 1 tsp mixed spice

• ¼ tsp fine sea salt

• 80g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus 10g extra for greasing the dish

• 80g light brown muscovado sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 50g tahini

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• thick cream or vanilla ice-cream, to serve

FOR THE TAHINI BUTTERSCOTCH

• 300ml thickened cream

• 180g light brown muscovado sugar

• 80g butter, cut into 4 pieces

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• 50g tahini

• ¼ tsp sea salt flakes

1. Step 1

   If using an ovenproof serving dish, brush the base and sides with the 10g softened butter. If using a cake tin, line the base and sides of a 20cm-square tin with baking paper, allowing an overhang on all sides to aid cake removal later on. Set the dish or tin aside.

2. Step 2

   Combine the dates and water in a medium saucepan and place over medium-high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the baking soda, then set aside to cool to tepid.

3. Step 3

   Preheat the oven to 175C fan-forced (195C conventional). Sift the self-raising flour, mixed spice and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

4. Step 4

   Place the butter and muscovado sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and creamy (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure the ingredients are well combined. Don’t worry if the batter looks curdled; it often does at this stage.

5. Step 5

   Reduce the speed to low and add the tahini and vanilla extract, mixing to combine. Still on low speed, add the dry, sifted ingredients in 3 batches, then add the cooled date mixture.

6. Step 6

   Scrape the batter into the prepared dish or tin and place on the centre rack of the preheated oven. Bake for 40–45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the pudding comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Remove the pudding from the oven.

7. Step 7

   While the pudding is in the oven, make the tahini butterscotch by combining all the ingredients, except the salt flakes, in a medium saucepan. Place over low heat and stir gently until the butter has melted, then increase the heat and bring the sauce to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 90 seconds, then remove from heat. Stir in the salt.

8. Step 8

   When the pudding is out of the oven, transfer to a wire rack to settle for about 10 minutes, then pierce holes all over with a skewer, going right through to the bottom of the cake. Spoon about a quarter of the butterscotch sauce evenly over the pudding and allow it to soak in for a few minutes. Pour the remaining butterscotch into a jug to pass around the table.

9. Step 9

   Bring the warm pudding to the table if it was baked in a serving dish, or slice into squares to plate up if it was made in the cake tin. Either way, serve accompanied by the extra butterscotch sauce and pass around a bowl of thick cream or ice-cream.