World Chocolate Day is on Sunday 7 July and to celebrate here’s a delicious and luxurious Whittaker’s recipe to try if you’re wanting to impress your family or friends with a great dessert for these cooler winter nights.
Tip: Don’t have a bundt cake tin? Instead, grease and line a regular 24cm spring-form cake tin with baking paper. Fill a small oven-proof dish or ramekin, roughly 6-7 cm diameter, with baking weights (or dried rice). Grease the outside of the dish/ramekin with softened butter, then line it with a strip of baking paper around the outside. Place the dish in the centre of the lined cake tin, then carefully pour the batter in around the dish in the centre. Lift the dish out of the tin once baked, before turning the cake out onto your serving plate.
Serves 12 / Difficulty Easy /Prep Time 30 minutes / Cook Time 35 minutes
Sticky Date Pudding:
- 200g dried dates, finely chopped
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 160g salted butter, melted + extra for greasing
- 165g / ¾ cup soft brown sugar, packed
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cups self-raising flour
- 4g / 1 tsp flaky sea salt
- ½ 250g block (125g) Whittaker’s Creamy Milk Caramel Chocolate, roughly chopped
Caramel Sauce:
- 75g salted butter
- 110g / ½ cup soft brown sugar, packed
- 160ml / ⅔ cup cream
- ½ 250g block (125g) Whittaker’s Creamy Milk Caramel Chocolate, roughly chopped
- 2g / ½ tsp flaky sea salt
To Decorate:
- 8 pitted fresh medjool dates, torn lengthwise into quarters
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Method
- Preheat your oven to 170°C fan bake. Grease a 24cm fluted bundt tin with some melted butter, using a pastry brush.
- Add the chopped dates to a medium heat-proof bowl and cover with the boiling water measure. Set aside to soak.
- Meanwhile, add the melted butter and brown sugar to a large mixing bowl. Whisk together, until combined. Add eggs and whisk again, until combined and glossy.
- Whisk the baking soda into the soaked dates. Add the chopped caramel chocolate to the soaked dates and whisk again, until the chocolate is melted and combined. Add the chocolate date mixture to the bowl with the egg mixture, along with the flour and salt. Whisk together, until combined (the batter will be quite runny).
- Pour the batter carefully into the prepared cake tin. Bake on the middle oven rack for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. A skewer inserted should come out mostly clean, with a few moist crumbs.
- Set the pudding aside to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, before inverting onto a serving plate.
- For the sauce, combine the butter, brown sugar and cream together in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring, until the butter has melted. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Simmer on medium heat for a further 3 minutes, until it is glossy and thickened slightly. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the chopped caramel chocolate and salt. Whisk together, until the chocolate has melted and the sauce is smooth.
- Pour roughly half of the warm caramel sauce over the top of the sticky date pudding. Decorate with the medjool dates, and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt (if desired).
- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and the remaining sauce on the side.
