Sticky Date Pudding + Salted Scotch Spiked Butterscotch {vegan}
An insanely *m-word trigger warning* moist date, cinnamon spiced pudding with a boozy, Scotch spiked salted butterscotch sauce (say that 10 times fast!). Serve steaming hot on a chilly night with a fat scoop of ice-cream.
Ingredients
cake
- 250 g pitted medjool dates, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp bicarb soda
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- 150 g vegan butter, I use nuttelex buttery
- 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/2 cup aquafaba/chickpea liquid, whisked to firm peaks
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, or 1 tbsp extract
- 1 3/4 cups plain flour, or sub gluten-free flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
butterscotch sauce
- 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 300 ml chilled coconut cream, solid 'cream' part on top of can only
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste, or 1/2 tbsp extract
- 60 g vegan butter,
- 2 tbsp scotch whisky, optional
- 1/4 - 3/4 tsp fine sea salt, start with less, add more to taste
Instructions
cake
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Butter and line the base and sides of a 7cm deep, 20-22 cm wide brownie tin/square cake tin with baking paper.
- Place chopped dates and bicarb soda in a bowl. Pour over boiling water. Allow to stand for 10 minutes or so to soften.
- Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Add aquafaba in a few stages, beating well until combined and fluffy.
- Sift over flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Fold through using a large spoon, then fold the date mixture through until just combined.
- Spoon mixture into prepared cake pan. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with no raw batter attached (it may not be clean thanks to the dates!).
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a serving plate.
sauce
- While the cake is baking, combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until sauce comes to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, simmer for 2 minutes. Taste for salt, add more if you'd like it.
- Pierce pudding all over with a skewer. Pour 1/2 cup of hot sauce over pudding. Stand for 10 minutes, then cut into squares. Serve with remaining sauce and ice-cream.