Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes

Sunday Dinner

Pickled Red Onions and Cheddar Cheese

Swedish Meatballs
with Dijon mustard and Lingonberries
Braised Red Cabbage
Spätzle
Homemade Lefse

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes

This meal came about when I was at the market with my children earlier this week. The good canned San Marzano Tomatoes were on sale, so I said, “Kids– Spaghetti and Meatballs for Sunday dinner”. My son was busy chatting with the butcher, and he only heard S– Meatballs. When he was done with his conversation, he came to me and said, “I can’t wait to eat Swedish Meatballs”. Wait–what?? I thought, “Oh my goodness, I haven’t made Swedish Meatballs yet this season.” Change of plans…tomatoes go in the pantry for another night, and I turn my cart around to get what I need for this meal.

This meal is a seasonal favorite in our house. From the onions to the pudding cakes, it is just good comfort food. Starting with the sweet pickled onions and cheese — yum — moving on to the savory meatballs in a rosemary gravy — so good. The cabbage and spätzle are a must, and the lefse helps mop it all up. The finisher I am featuring today is Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes. Moist, tender cakes with a sticky toffee sauce, served with a ladle of crème anglaise — pure heaven.

The only change I made is to place all the dates in the food processor. I have kids, and they would rather eat dates in small pieces than in big chunks. Other than that, this is a stand-up recipe.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes

By Nicole Prep: 15 minsCook: 50 minsTotal: 1 hr 5 mins Servings: 8 This traditional English dessert is a super moist sponge-like cake that is full of sweet dates and topped with a divine toffee sauce!

Equipment

• Ramekins
• 14-cup food processor

Ingredients 

For the Cakes

• 1 ¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 ¼ cups pitted dates, cut crosswise into ¼-inch slices
• ¾ cup warm water
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

For the Sauce

• 8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed, light brown sugar
• ⅔ cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon dark rum

Accompaniment

• Crème Anglaise or melted vanilla ice cream

Instructions 

For the Cakes

1. Adjust the oven rack to middle position and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray eight (4-ounce) ramekins with non-stick baking spray. Set the ramekins in a roasting pan lined with a non-stick baking mat. Bring a kettle of water to a boil over high heat.
2. In a small bowl combine half of dates, water, and baking soda and soak for 5 minutes. Drain dates, reserving liquid, and transfer to a medium bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a food processor, combine remaining dates and brown sugar and pulse until blended, about five 1-second pulses. Add drained dates, reserved soaking liquid, eggs, and vanilla and process until smooth, about 5 seconds. With the food processor running, pour the melted butter through feed tube. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.
4. Gently stir dry ingredients into wet mixture just until combined. Distribute batter evenly among prepared ramekins. Fill the roasting pan with enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins, making sure not to slash water into the ramekins. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil, crimpimg edges to seal. Bake pudding cakes until puffed and small holes appear on the surface, about 40 minutes. Immediately remove ramekins from the roasting pan and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

For the Toffee Sauce

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in brown sugar until smooth.
2. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture looks bubbly and puffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Slowly pour in cream and rum, whisk just to combine. Reduce the heat and simmer until frothy, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and keep warm. Set aside.
3. To serve, invert each ramekin onto a plated or shallow bowl, remove ramekin. Serve with the warm toffee sauce, crème anglaise or a good vanilla ice cream melted. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Notes

The pudding cakes are best eaten the day they are made, but the can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored for 2 days. Reheat in the microwave before serving. Nutritional values do not include accompaniment.

Nutrition

Calories: 493kcal, Carbohydrates: 53g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 27g, Saturated Fat: 16g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 112mg, Sodium: 350mg, Potassium: 279mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 35g, Vitamin A: 893IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 71mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.