Sticky Date Pudding

Servings: Approx. 9

INGREDIENTS:

Cake

• 10 oz. dates, pitted and chopped
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 6 tbsp. softened butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups All-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Butterscotch Sauce

• 1 1/4 brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 5 tbsp. butter
• 1/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Heat water in microwave for 1 minute, and steep dates and baking soda in the hot water for several minutes. Use a potato masher or pastry cutter to smash up the dates until they resemble a paste.
3. Beat together butter and brown sugar until smooth, then add eggs and vanilla extract and mix.
4. Add in flour, baking powder, and salt and mix again.
5. Mix in date paste until the batter is smooth.
6. Spray baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and pour batter inside. Bake for about 30 minutes. Cake is complete when an inserted toothpick into the center comes out clean.
7. While the cake is baking, work on the butterscotch. In a sauce pan on the stove top, bring all sauce ingredients to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens, usually about 15 minutes.
8. When the cake is done, but still warm, poke several holes in the cake with a skewer and cover the top with sauce. Let it soak in. Be sure to save some of the sauce to top the cake slices with later.
9. Serve warm, topped with vanilla ice cream and warm butterscotch sauce.