Extreme Sugar High

It's cold, it's dark, it's windy and wet. Time for some comfort baking! Here's my super-calorific sticky toffee pudding recipe for you, mmm....

Sticky Toffee Pudding (serves 9-12, small portions are sufficient!)

225g chopped dates

300ml hot black tea

110g butter

170g caster sugar

3 eggs

225g self raising flour

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp coffee granules

Preheat the oven to 180oC, grease and base line a 20cm square cake tin.

Soak the dates in the tea for 15 minutes or so. Meanwhile cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy then gradually beat in the eggs. Fold in the flour and then all the other ingredients. Turn into the tin and bake for 1h15 or so (until a skewer comes out clean).

Toffee Sauce

110g butter

175g dark brown soft sugar

110g granulated sugar

275g golden syrup

225ml double cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Melt together the butter and sugars with the golden syrup, bring slowly to the boil then simmer for about 5 minutes to fully dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat, carefully add the cream and vanilla, then return to the heat for a couple more minutes.

Serve sponge and sauce together warm, with a good dollop of cream or ice cream if it's not quite unhealthy enough for you!