After loving every single morsel and decadent drop of The City Kitchen’s sticky toffee pudding, I began my quest for the perfect copycat recipe. For my purposes, the recipe needed to be absolutely delicious but functional in terms of baking in advance and serving a large number of guests. I first tried a long and complicated cake recipe with caramel filling and what sounded like the best real deal buttercream icing…you know, to balance the richness and sweetness. I made it for Thanksgiving and was so absolutely disappointed. So disappointed, in fact, that I left the remaining cake at my mother’s house. I tried several recipes and finally settled on this version, as it is easy to make and works well made in advance as you can reheat if desired.
Medjool dates can be found during the winter holiday season and are well worth your money and time in locating. They are a far cry better than the dried dates found daily on grocery store shelves. Medjool dates are large, soft, and gummy with the right amount of sweetness. They require pitting, however, it is fast and easy. These medjool dates also take your bacon wrapped dates to another level! Try stuffing them with a great blue cheese then wrap in bacon with a final drizzle of balsamic reduction. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I enjoyed my date night at The City Kitchen in Beaufort and having other chefs prepare a fantastic meal for my friends and I.
What you’ll need:
Cake:
1 cup Medjool dates
1/2 cup water
1 stick unsalted butter
1.25 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
Caramel Sauce:
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9×9 baking dish.
- Roughly chop the dates and add them to a saucepan with the water. Boil for 30 seconds then turn off heat.
- Cream the butter until fluffy, then add the flour, sugars, spices and baking powder until combined and sandy looking.
- Add in both eggs and mix until just combined. Add the dates and water, mix until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake springs back.
- Sauce: Boil for one minute and set aside to cool slightly.
- When cake is ready, drizzle 1/4 of the sauce on it. Serve warm with the rest of the sauce poured on top.
Article Provided By: Allison Thomas
