Smarter Sugar Recipe: Sticky Toffee Pudding

Every time I go back to England I have to have this dessert: it's spongy, gooey and crispy all at once, soft, warm, sublet and definitely not bland. Since I moved to London I decided it was time I learned how to make it, and realized that compared to many other cakes (think angel food, pound cake, cup cakes), sticky toffee isn't that harmful: for one thing, it's free of refined sugar, and is instead sweetened with golden sugar and minced dates (for more info on sugar check out my Halloween blog on palm sugar). In a nutshell, it has a high sugar content, but it's high fiber, and more nutritious , digestible, and mineral rich than refined sugar based desserts.

The butter used for it is unsalted, so yes it still contains plenty of saturated fats, but at least it'll be lower in sodium (beware cakes demanding salted butter!).

Before I give you my recipe, let's remind outselves it's still a treat and best made on a Sunday and eaten no more than once/twice a week!

My Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ingredients (6 servings)

1 cup minced dates

1/3 cup minced prunes

2/3 cup golden sugar (or organic palm sugar)

1/2 cup unsalted butter (organic and preferable raw)

4 whole free range eggs

1 cup whole meal flour

3/4 cup chestnut flour (if you can't find it, add 3/4 cup wheat flour)

1 teaspoon sodium bicarbonate

1 cup hot 100% Arabica coffee

Directions:

In a bowl, pour hot coffee over dates and prunes. Preheat your oven at 350F or 180 C.

In a mixing bowl, whisk butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and whisk vigorously (it's best to have an electric mixer). When the mix is well blended, add the date-prune-coffee mix and the sodium bicarbonate, stir well then gradually add the flour(s). Once your batter is completely even, pour into a lightly oiled or buttered cake dish (9 inch diameter) and stick in the oven 40-50 minutes, until whenever a knife comes out clean at the bottom.

I loved to serve it warm with a tablespoon home-made whipped and caramel sauce or whiskey-flambeed bananas. If you make your own ice-creams: it's great with whiskey ice-cream, cinnamon ice cream, Christmas ice-cream and simple vanilla. 

Also lovely with a simple tablespoon fresh sour cream.