March 2013
Like I said at brunch time, when a cake is comprised of coffee-soaked dates, it quite easily becomes an excuse to eat cake for breakfast. Don’t let the name fool you (I guess this is just another case of American English versus the Queen’s English), this Irish inspired Sticky Toffee Pudding is just that- an excuse to eat cake for breakfast.
Whole-Wheat Sticky Toffee Pudding
Cake Ingredients
6 Tablespoons organic unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for dish
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour, plus more for dish
8 ounces Medjool dates, pitted and coarsely chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 cup scalding-hot, strong, brewed coffee
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup lightly packed organic light-brown sugar
2 organic large eggs, room temperature
Sauce Ingredients
1 stick organic unsalted butter
1 cup lightly packed organic light-brown sugar
3/4 cup organic heavy cream
Directions
Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 2 1/2-quart baking dish.
Place dates in a bowl, pour coffee over dates, and let soak 15 minutes. Stir in baking soda.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until thoroughly incorporated.
Reduce speed to low, and add half the flour mixture, beating until combined. Add date mixture and remaining flour mixture, and beat until just combined. (Do not overmix.) Transfer batter to dish, and bake until cake is puffed and springs back in center when gently pressed with a finger, about 25 minutes.
Sauce: Meanwhile, combine butter, sugar, and cream in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium (so sauce does not boil over) and boil, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and darkens slightly, about 4 minutes.
Remove cake from oven and pierce holes at 1-inch intervals to bottom of cake with a wooden skewer. Pour half of hot sauce over cake and let soak 20 minutes. Serve warm with remaining sauce. Cake soaked in sauce and remaining toffee sauce can be stored at room temperature up to 1 day. Before serving, warm cake in a 300 degrees oven 10 minutes, and sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat.
