All-in-one Sticky Toffee Pudding

From Nigella Lawson's 'Nigella Bites', this easy take on a family favourite transforms sticky toffee pudding into a simple, quick Surprise pudding. Once cooked, it has a soft sponge layer on top, covering a delicious, gooey toffee sauce, as opposed to having that separate. Thanks to the handy combination of the two, generally separate components, it is a fairly low-maintenance treat that can be swiftly made and left in the oven while you get on with whatever else you need to do. So aspects of the recipe, for instance pouring the boiling water OVER the cake mixture, do seem unlikely, but I can assure you that they do work!

For the cake:

  • 100g dark brown sugar
  • 175g self-raising flour
  • 125ml milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 50g melted butter
  • 200g chopped, rolled dates

For the sauce

  • 200g dark brown sugar
  • 25g butter
  • 500ml boiling water

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius

 

2. In an electric mixer, or with a wooden spoon, beat together all the ingredients for the cake, excluding the dates

 

3. Fold in the dates and scrape into a large (1.5l capacity) pudding dish

 

4. Sprinkle over the 200g dark brown sugar

 

5. Dot the 25g butter in little blobs over the sugar

 

6. Pour over the boiling water and transfer to the oven

 

7. Remove after about 45 minutes, when the sponge is springy and spongy. 

 

8. Serve hot with ice cream, cream or creme fraiche as you would like