Palestinian sticky toffee pudding

Last week I received one of the most memorable gifts of my life: An enormous box of dates.

However, these weren’t just any ordinary dates. They were ‘Palestinian Delights,’ Medjoul dates all the way from the West Bank.

And it wasn’t just an ordinary quantity of dates either. It was a full five kilos of nature’s toffee.

There was also a proviso however. I would only be given the dates if I agreed to make a sticky toffee pudding with said Palestinian Delights.

“No bother to me,” I thought. After all, only a fraction of the five kilos would be required for the sticky toffee.

One week on and I am eating approximately three dates a day and I have hardly made a dent in the big box. They’re delicious too, deeply sweet and moreish and heaving with honeyed caramel — and they’re good for me too. Jam-packed with positive vitamins, antioxidants and fibre, dates have so many health benefits that other fruits should be ashamed of themselves. Strangely enough, despite their inherent sweetness, dates are considered to be a low glycemic index (GI) food that can be eaten in moderation without causing significant blood sugar spikes. In fact, some studies suggest that dates may even help lower blood glucose levels.

Granted, date consumption via a sticky toffee pudding won’t help my waistline but then again, this is strictly a once-in-a-blue-moon treat. Well, once a week anyway.

This is the easiest sticky toffee pudding recipe that I know and, in a word, it’s magical.

It’s self-saucing and just in case you think adding boiling water to the batter sounds like a mistake, fear not, that’s all part of the plan. Basically, trust the process.

INGREDIENTS

100g of LIGHT brown muscovado sugar

175g of self-raising flour

125ml of full fat milk

1 free range egg

Half a vanilla pod, seeds scraped out

50g of unsalted butter (melted)

220f of chopped Palestinian Delights

FOR THE SAUCE

200g of DARK brown muscovado sugar

30g of unsalted butter

500ml of boiling water

THE PLAN

This won’t take long, so start off by pre-heating the oven to 170C and then butter up a pudding or casserole dish, one with at least a capacity of one and a half litres.

In a large bowl, mix the 100g of LIGHT muscovado sugar with the flour. Dump in the milk, melted butter, egg (whisked) and vanilla seeds and mix with a wooden spoon.

Dump in the chopped dates and fold through and then pour the whole lot into the buttered pudding dish.

Spoon on the 200g of DARK muscovado sugar and then dot with the 30g of additional butter. Pour the boiling water right on top and then retire the dish to the oven for 45 to 50 minutes.

After this time, the sponge on top should be springy to the touch and underneath, when served, should be a decadent, rich, unbelievably sumptuous sauce.

Personally, I like my Palestinian sticky toffee pudding with a scoop of good vanilla ice-cream although I have been known to use crème fraiche in a pinch. Failing that, a side serving of peace in the Middle East would be the ultimate.Here’s hoping.