I want to write something funny and engaging to accompany this recipe but sorry, I can’t.
I am currently in a situation of what you would call, “being in a rut”, where I self-loath and watch a lot of America’s Next Top Model, subsequently hating myself even more due to the inability to stop myself from watching such a pointless, vapid show.
Tyra Banks in a white leotard speaking in robot voice to welcome her new recruits. Yeap.
Anyway, this is a recipe for a sort of healthy sticky date pudding. I say “sort of”, because while there’s no cream there are still loads of sugar involved and hence the puddings are ridiculously tasty.
# – The awesome healthy(ier) sticky date pudding.
The black treacle and yogurt give the pudding a depth of flavour that you can’t find in ordinary sticky date puddings.
Here’s the recipe!
For the pudding:
200g pitted whole dates 175ml of boiling water 75ml of cooking oil (plus some for oiling ramekins) 175g of flour, plus some for dusting 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 1 teaspoon of black treacle 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda 100g of brown sugar 100g of plain yogurt
For the toffee sauce:100g of brown sugar 25g of butter, cut into pieces 1.5 teaspoon of black treacle 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract 100g of plain yogurt
# – First pour 175ml of boiling water over the chopped pitted dates. Leave to cool for 30 minutes.
# – In the meantime, oil the ramekins with a paper towel and dust with flour.
# – When the dates have cooled down, add vanilla extract. Followed by black treacle. Mash with a fork to form a rough puree.
# – In a bowl, mix brown sugar and oil together with a wooden spoon.
# – Add beaten eggs to the mixture and stir to combine.
# – In a different bowl, add the bicarb soda to the flour and mix with a spoon.
# – Pour 1/2 the flour into the sugar mixture and stir lightly to combine.
# – Followed by 100 grams of plain yogurt. Also stir to combine.
# – Next, tip the rest of the flour into the mixture and fold until combined. Don’t overmix!
# – Now, pour in the date puree into the mixture and stir until combined.
# – Divide the mixture into 6 oiled/floured ramekins.
# – Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees celcius for 20-25 minutes.
# – While waiting for the puddings to bake, get on with making the toffee sauce. First, heat up the brown sugar and butter in a saucepan over medium heat, constantly stirring.
# – When the sugar has completely melted, add vanilla essence. Followed by black treacle. Stir to combine.
# – Remove the saucepan from heat. Then, stir in the yogurt. Toffee sauce is now done :)
# – Remove puddings from the oven.
# – Serve in a bowl with the toffee sauce drizzled all over.
# – Awesome healthy(ier) sticky date pudding, DONE!
The pudding tasted absolutely sticky, luxurious and delicious. It’s also much lighter than it looks.
They freeze well too! When you have a craving, just pop it back into a ramekin, cover with clingfilm (but making sure pudding doesn’t touch the clingfilm) and nuke for 3 minutes at Medium High.
# – So glad I have a box of pitted dates right now in my fridge cause I need to make more!!!
