Recipe of the week: Sticky toffee loaf with rum
Because nothing beats a comforting homemade pud!
“No Sunday roast is complete without a sticky toffee pudding, or in this case, a sticky toffee loaf,” Carew writes in his first cookbook, The Dirty Dishes.
“For me, this just shouts lazy Sundays. You’ve eaten your roast, been out for a walk, then you’re on the sofa when the sticky toffee pudding comes out.”
Ingredients (serves 4)
200g medjool dates, de-stoned and chopped
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
150g brown sugar
150g butter, softened
2 large eggs
150g self-raising flour
½tsp cinnamon
½tsp mixed spice
1tbsp baking powder
For the toffee sauce:
50g butter
250g Muscovado sugar
125ml double cream
1 double shot of rum
Vanilla ice cream to serve
Equipment needed
900g loaf tin or 23cm round baking tin
Tip
Be careful not to overcook the base because it will dry out.
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 180C (fan 160C/gas mark 4). Pop the dates in a bowl and cover with 400ml boiling water. Add the bicarbonate of soda and leave to soak and cool.
2 In a bowl or stand mixer, mix the brown sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and whisk together. Next add the cooled dates and most of the liquid and whisk until combined. Finally, add the flour, cinnamon, mixed spice and baking powder. Mix until fully incorporated.
3 Next, line and butter the loaf tin or baking tin. Add the cake mixture and pop in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until the knife comes out clean.
4 While the sponge is baking, start making the toffee sauce. In a pan, heat the butter and sugar together until melted, then add the double cream. Bring up to the boil then add the rum.
5 When the sponge is ready, dot with a few holes here and there. Pour half the sauce over the sponge while it’s still in the tin and allow it to soak in for 15-20 minutes.
Remove from the tin, slice thickly, and serve with vanilla ice cream and the remaining sauce.
