Foodie Friday: Spiced Orange Sticky Date Pudding

This deliciously easy pudding/cake was developed for Williams Sonoma by the super-talented baker Sally Boyle of Simmer and Boyle.

Pudding ingredients

250g dates, stoned and chopped
1.5 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
zest and juice of 1 orange
90g unsalted butter
120g caster sugar
110g brown sugar
3 large eggs
250g self-raising flour
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Orange caramel sauce ingredients

550g caster sugar
300ml cream
100g unsalted butter
zest and juice of 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Carefully butter and flour a 10-cup bundt tin, take your time to ensure you do not miss any spots, particularly the ridges.

3. Pour the orange juice into a jug, add water to make a total of 460ml, tip into a pan with the chopped dates and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat, add the bicarb soda, give it a quick stir and set aside for 10 minutes to cool, then using a stick blender or food processor, blend until smooth.

4. Sieve the flour, cinnamon and cloves into a bowl, set aside.

5. Cream butter and sugars until fluffy and the colour noticeably lightens, add the orange zest, then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

6. Fold in the flour gently, then stir in the date mixture, the batter will be very wet, pour into your prepared tin.

7. Bake in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes, the pudding is cooked when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (while the pudding is cooking make the sauce).

As soon as it’s out of the oven, invert the pudding onto a shallow oven proof dish or plate, pour a little sauce over the pudding and pop it back in the oven for 5 minutes or so, the sauce will form a deliciously chewy crust.

Sprinkle with flaked sea salt and serve generous slices with extra caramel sauce, a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, and maybe a candied orange slice or two.

Sauce directions

1. Combine the sugar and 200ml water in a saucepan, bring to the boil over medium-high heat, stir until the sugar dissolves, then brush down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to remove any sugar crystals, cook until the caramel darkens and starts to smoke (10-15 minutes).

2. Add the cream, butter, orange juice and cinnamon stick (take care as the hot caramel will spit) stir until dissolved, strain in a jug, stir through the orange zest and set aside.

3. Sauce can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.

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