Great Britain
Cooking time - 60 mins
Serves - 8
Difficulty - easy peasy
Ingredients
FOR THE SPONGE
- 200g/7.1oz. soft dried pitted dates (roughly chopped)
- 200ml/6.8fl oz. boiled water
- 75g/2.6oz. soft unsalted butter (plus more for greasing)
- 30ml/1fl oz. tbsp black treacle
- 50g/1.8oz. muscovado sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 150g/5.3oz. plain flour
- 1tsp bicarbonate soda
- 2tsp baking powder
FOR THE SAUCE
- 150g/5.3oz. soft unsalted butter
- 300g/10.6oz. muscovado sugar
- 1tbsp black treacle
- 200ml/6.8fl oz. double cream (plus more to serve)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F and lightly grease your Whatever Pan.
- Put the chopped dates and boiling water into a bowl and give them a little squish, leave for 10 minutes.
- Cream the butter and black treacle until well mixed, then add the sugar and mix again, beating out any lumps. Beat in an egg and keep beating. Add the other egg and beat again.
- Add the flour, bicarbonate soda and baking powder and keep beating until you have a smooth, thick batter.
- Stir the soaked dates, then pour the dates and their liquid into the batter and beat gently to mix in.
- Pour and scrape into your Whatever Pan and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes.
- To make the sauce, melt the butter, muscovado sugar and treacle over a very low heat in your cleaned Whatever Pan.
- Once the butter is melted, stir gently until everything else is melted too. Now stir in the cream, then turn up the heat and when it's bubbling and hot, take it off the heat.
- As soon as it's out of the oven, pour the warm sauce over the sponge.
- Leave for 20-30 minutes, or up to an hour is fine, then take to the table!
