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by Jason Atherton from Social Sweets (Absolute Press)

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Serves 8-10

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Prep time: 30 mins

Cooking time:Ìý 40 mins

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In the dead of winter, nothing beats a good sticky toffee pudding at the end of a meal. It never fails to warm my cockles, particularly when enjoyed with a glass of PX sherry or port. For me, the caramel sauce should always be salted so as to offset the intense sweetness of the pudding.

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Ingredients

65g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

200g pitted dried dates, roughly chopped

250mlÌýwater

100g soft light brown sugar

100g caster sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature

200g plain flour

1½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp fine sea salt

Vanilla or Salted Ice cream, to serve

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For the Salted Caramel

250mlÌýdouble cream

1 tspÌýsea salt

110g liquid glucose

150g caster sugar

75g unsalted butter, diced

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Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160C/Gas Mark 4. Grease a 900g loaf tin & line with baking parchment. Put the chopped dates & water into a small saucepan & bring to the boil. Remove from the heat & leave to cool slightly, then pour the mixture into a small food processor & blend until nicely puréed. Transfer to a bowl & leave to cool completely. Meanwhile, cream the butter with the brown & caster sugars in a large mixing bowl using an electric whisk. When the mixture is light & fluffy, gradually beat in the eggs. Sift the flour, baking powder & salt into the bowl & fold through. Finally, add the date purée & fold into the mixture until just incorporated (try not to over-mix the batter). Pour the mixture into the greased & lined tin & bake for 30–40 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool for a few mins, then turn out the loaf on to a wire rack. Leave to cool a bit more while you make the salted caramel sauce. To make the caramel, put the cream & salt into a heavy-based saucepan & slowly bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Meanwhile, put the liquid glucose into another heavy-based saucepan with 50g of the sugar. Set over medium heat & let the sugar melt slowly. Once it has, add half of the remaining sugar & let it melt slowly over medium heat. Repeat with the last of the sugar. Once all the sugar has melted, increase the heat & let the syrup cook to an amber-coloured caramel. Take the pan off the heat & slowly stir in the hot cream. If there are any bits of hardened caramel, stir the mixture over medium heat until they have melted. Finally, stir in the butter & take the pan off the heat. (If making in advance, gently reheat the caramel before serving.) To serve, cut the warm sticky toffee pudding into slices & place one on each serving plate. Pour the salted caramel generously over the puddings & serve immediately, with ice cream on the side, if you wish.