This recipe takes all the best parts from a traditional sticky toffee pudding but uses prunes instead of dates. The result is a dense and rich warm cake smothered in an alternative but still rich toffee sauce. This pudding has 67% less butter and 57% less sugar than the original recipe. Plus, the sauce has additional reductions in sugar and cream.
Preheat oven to 350F [180C]. Butter an 8- by 12-inch [20- by 30-cm] or similar nonstick baking tin.
To make the pudding, put prunes in a pan with 1 1/4 cups [300 ml] water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes until softened. Remove from the heat and blend until smooth in a food processor, then stir in baking soda until the foam subsides.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add eggs, beating well after each addition. With a rubber spatula, fold in flour, followed by the prune mixture.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the pudding has risen and feels firm to the touch. Let cool 5 minutes, then unmold and cool completely.
To make the toffee sauce, put prunes into a pan with 3/4 cup [175 ml] water and cook gently for 5 minutes or until softened. Blend until smooth, then stir in the butter, sugar, golden syrup, and cream and simmer for a few minutes until the butter has melted and sugar has dissolved. (This makes 1 heaping cup [250 ml] sauce.)
To serve, cut into squares and drizzle sauce on top. Top with creme fraiche if desired.
175 g / 1 1/4 cups Diced Prunes or Prune Bits
1 teaspoon baking soda
50 g / 3 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
75 g /1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
200 g / 1 1/3 cup self-raising flour, sifted
75 g / 1/2 cup Diced Prunes or Prune Bits
2 tablespoons / 30 g salted butter
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Crème fraiche, to serve (optional)
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