I love this pudding on a cold day served with toffee sauce and vanilla ice-cream. This is an easy recipe and you don’t have to worry about cooking individual puddings just slice and serve. My oldest girl loves this cold in her lunch box as well as a tiny portion of toffee sauce if there is any left.

225 grams/ 8 ounces stoned dates chopped

250millilitres / 9 fluid ounces black tea

100 grams/ 3 ½ ounces soft butter

175 grams/ 6 ounces sugar

3 medium eggs

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

225 grams / 8 ounces self raising flour ( or All Purpose  with a teaspoon of baking powder)

¾ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda/ baking soda

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F and line the bottom of a 20 centimetre / 8 inch loose bottomed tin. Grease the sides of the tin also to prevent the cake sticking to it.

Place the chopped dates and tea into a sauce pan and bring to the boil. Cook for a few minutes to soften the dates then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Cream the butter and sugar in your mixer until fluffy and incorporate the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the cooled date mixture followed by the flour, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice.

Pour the batter into your prepared tin and bake for about 35-40 minutes and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out cleanly.

This pudding works really well gluten free; just substitute the flour and baking powder with a GF variety. I like Dove’s Farm brand. Remember to include ¼ teaspoon of Xanthan gum.

Toffee Sauce

55 grams/ 2 ounces butter

125 grams/ 4 ½ ounces sugar

140 grams / 5 ounces golden syrup

115 millilitres/ 4 fluid ounces cream

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan over a high heat and boil for approximately 5-5 minutes stirring continuously until it has thickened. Serve warm.

Adapted from Rachael Allen’s Bake