Little Icky Sticky Puddings With Caramel Sauce - cooking recipe

Ingredients

170 g dates
300 ml water
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
170 g caster sugar
60 g butter, chopped and at room temperature
2 large eggs
170 g self raising flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Caramel Sauce
200 g brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
130 g butter, chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preparation

Before you do anything else, place the dates and the water into a saucepan over a moderate heat and bring the mixture to a good rolling boil.
Remove saucepan from the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda.
Now, allow the date mixture to cool while you prepare the other ingredients.
Set the oven to 180C (350F).
Grease a muffin tin (I use one that makes 12 muffins) very well.
In a medium sized mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Still beating, add eggs, one at a time, and beat until the beaters leave a'trail' in the mixture- it should be the consistency of whipped cream.
Add vanilla and mix briefly to combine.
Sift the flour into this mixture, then fold it in lightly but thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
When the date mixture is cooled (no hotter than luke warm), tip it into the other ingredients and stir lightly but thoroughly to combine.
A light hand in mixing at this stage will ensure light puddings.
Don't worry that the mixture looks very liquid at this stage- that's how it's supposed to look.
Spoon mixture into muffin cups, filling each cup almost, but not quite, to the top (they don't rise too much).
Bake on the centre shelf of a preheated 180C (350F) oven for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer, inserted in the centre of a pudding, comes out clean.
When cooked, remove tray from oven and allow puddings to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing to serve or to cool on wire racks.
(If puddings stick, run a knife around the outside, and allow puddings to cool a little more before carefully easing out of the pan.) Serve warm with hot caramel sauce.
TO MAKE THE CARAMEL SAUCE Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over a moderate heat and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
Serve over warm puddings.