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Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce
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Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

Sweet, dense and moist date cake is bathed with homemade butterscotch sauce. Be sure to plan ahead - this is not a difficult dessert to prepare, but it does take planning. Read through the instructions prior to starting this pudding cake.
Prep Time1 hr
Cook Time50 mins
Total Time1 hr 50 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Terri @ that's some good cookin'

Ingredients

For the pudding

  • 1 1/2 packed cups pitted dates - I used Medjool dates
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup butter, cut into chunky pieces
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
  • 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

For the butterscotch sauce

  • 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon corn syrup
  • 1/4 cup butter

Instructions

For the Pudding

  • Place dates and water in a small saucepan. Stir. Bring to a boil over high heat.
  • Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and butter. The baking soda will get a tiny bit foamy and the butter will begin to melt. Set aside for about 25 minutes to cool.
  • While the date mixture is cooling, prepare the baking pan. (The original recipe called for an 8-inch springform pan, but I only had a 9-inch springform pan. It worked fine - the cake was not quite as tall as it would have been in an 8-inch pan and also the cooking time was somewhat decreased.) Grease the pan well (I used shortening). Line the pan with parchment paper. To do this, I traced the bottom of the pan onto the parchment paper, then cut out the circle and placed it in the bottom of the pan. For the sides, I cut a strip of parchment paper an inch or two taller than the pan height of the pan edge, then pressed the parchment around the inside perimeter of the pan. See the pictures in the blog post for a tutorial. Set prepared pan aside.
    Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce
  • Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Adjust the oven racks to the lower third of the oven so that the top of the pudding will be in about the center of the oven.
  • In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and brown sugar. Break up any clumps of brown sugar which may form. Set bowl aside.
  • Put the cooled date mixture in a food processor or blender. Pulse a few times to break down the dates. This will form a thick, somewhat chunky date paste.
  • Add the eggs and the vanilla to the date mixture. Process until smooth.
  • Add the date mixture to the flour/brown sugar mixture. Fold together gently just until combined.
  • Pour into prepared springform pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until the pudding springs back when lightly pressed in the center. Remove pudding from oven and place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.

For the Sauce

  • Prepare the butterscotch sauce about ten minutes before the cake has finished baking. Put all butterscotch sauce ingredients in a small saucepot and stir well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce comes to a simmer. Lower heat to low and continue to cook, stirring as needed, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Finishing

  • Using a skewer, randomly pierce pudding/cake in multiple places. Pour 1/2 cup of the butterscotch sauce over the pudding and allow to sit for about 5 minutes. Most of the sauce will be absorbed in the pudding/cake.
  • Remove cake from pan, slice and serve with remaining butterscotch sauce. If desired, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Notes

  • Any leftover sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to one week.