Lulu’s Musings….

I have an English friend who introduced me to sticky toffee pudding, and it was love at first bite. Hers was incredibly moist and oozing with yummy toffee flavor. Served warm, I savored it in very small bites to make it last as long as possible. Since having it at her home, sticky toffee pudding has been on my watch for list at restaurants with little luck. Occasionally, Costco or Trader Joe’s will have it and though they are satisfactory substitutes they are nothing compared to my friend’s.

The other day I was looking through Ina Garten’s FOOLPROOF cookbook for new inspiration for dinner and came across a recipe for a sticky toffee date cake with bourbon glaze. Checking the pantry I found all ingredients so there was no way to resist giving it a try.

The result was very satisfying, but I’m not going to say it was better than my friend’s sticky toffee pudding that will always be my favorite. The recipe is worth sharing though in case you have a hankering for a special sweet treat.

Sticky Toffee Date Cake with Bourbon Glaze

1/4 lb. dates, pitted and chopped

1 t. baking soda

1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature

1/3 c. sugar

2 extra large eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 1/4 c. Flour

1 t. kosher salt

1 1/2 T. baking powder

Place the dates in a saucepan with 1 3/4 c. of water. Bring to boil, stirring to break up the dates. Simmer for about 1 minute, remove from heat and add baking soda. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Combine flour and salt and add gradually to the mixture. Then add date mixture in two batches. Stir in baking powder and pour mix into a buttered and floured 9″ pie pan and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Don’t be alarmed when the dates and batter bubble up or that the batter is a tad runny. It’s all part of what happens!

Bourbon Glaze

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

1 c. light brown sugar

1/2 c. heavy cream

1/4 t. kosher salt

2 T. bourbon

2 t. vanilla

Combine butter, brown sugar, cream and salt in a saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in bourbon and vanilla. When cake is done, poke holes in the top and pour 3/4 of sauce over the cake. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a serving dish and pour remaining sauce over it.

At serving time, it’s great by itself or you may want to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream. Either way, it’s a tasty treat that would be great to serve to company as well as a special surprise for the family.

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