A sticky situation.....

Where does this delicious concoction of chopped dates mixed in a spongy, cake batter and drizzled with hot, homemade toffee sauce originate? The English claim this as their own as do the Australians who serve this as a national dessert like their famous pavlovas! Though the origins of this desert is debatable and most sources agree it is of English descent, I had the joy of eating this on my recent trip to Sydney, indulging in this comforting, calorie laden cake a few times and on my return home decided to tackle this sticky sensation on my own. The result was a tantalizing taste of sweet,sticky and slightly salty perfection.

 

Sticky Toffee Date Cake
Serves: two 9" cakes (round) or about 20 muffins

Ingredients:
. 1lb dates, pitted and chopped
. 2tsp. baking soda
. 8oz. softened butter
. 3/4 cup sugar
. 4 eggs (at room temperature)
. 1 tsp. good vanilla extract
. 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
. 1 tsp. salt
. 3/4 tblsp. baking powder
For the Toffee (Caramel) sauce:
. 1/2 lb butter
. 1 cup brown sugar (8 oz)
. 1/2 cup heavy cream
. 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour two 9" round cake pans.  Place the dates in a large saucepan with 3 1/2 cups cold water.  Bring to boil, stirring a little to break up the dates. Let it simmer for a minute and then remove from the heat.  Stir in the baking soda - this will cause the mixture to bubble up!  Cream the butter and sugar together in a food mixer until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time.  Scrape down the bowl occasionally.  Add the vanilla extract, flour and salt and mix briefly to form a rather lumpy dough.  Now add the warm date mixture in tow batches.  In between the mixings, make sure to scrape down the bowl.  You will get a rather watery dough but don't let that alarm you! Next add the baking powder which will bubble up too.  Pour the batter equally into the two prepared pans.  Bake for about  30 - 40 minutes .  Test with a toothpick and it should come out clean when the cakes are done.

To make the sauce, combine the butter, brown sugar, heavy cream and vanilla extract in a medium sized saucepan.  Bring to boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer until it thickens and is well blended. Once the cakes are done, poke little holes all over with a toothpick.  Pour the sauce over it while the cakes are still warm and let it soak for about 10 minutes.  You can decorate the cake with some dates.

Indulge!