I love a good sticky date 'pud', but sometimes I find they are a little heavy and not very friendly to the old waistline. So here's a lovely, simple, lighter version... more of a cupcake then a pudding... but just as delicious!
Ingredients
1 1/4c pitted dates1 1/4 water, boiling hot
1 tsp bi-carb soda
50g butter, melted
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c self raising flour
How to...
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
- Grease a standard muffin tin, or line with paper cases.
- Place the dates and water in a food processor (or a powerful blender, see note) and whizz until smooth.
- Pour mixture into a mixing bowl, stir in bi-carb soda and let sit for 5 minutes. The mix will foam up a little.
- Stir in the butter and brown sugar, until smooth.
- Add the eggs and flour and stir until combined and smooth.
- Pour the batter into the muffin tin and bake for 30-35 minutes or until cakes spring back when touched.
- Let stand for 5 minutes in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- You could make a caramel sauce to pour over but I find a dust of icing sugar and a little scoop of ice cream is a sure winner!
Note: be very careful when using a processor or blender to whizz up anything hot. The trapped steam can force the lid off once the blades start spinning, sending the ultra hot contents all over you! I use a Kitchen Aid blender and I've never had this problem but this has happened to me with less powerful blenders. PLEASE use the pulse button first to see if the lid will stay put.
