Make-Ahead Sticky Toffee Pudding

Preheat oven to 180ºC (355ºF).

Remove the pits from the dates and and finely chop dates. Place in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Stir in vanilla essence and bicarbonate of soda and set aside.

Mix butter and sugar. You can use a fancy whisker if you have one, but it will work totally fine if you do it by hand with a whisk. I’ll be honest, I got my hands stuck, which helped soften the butter to melt it together better.

Once the butter and sugar are combined, whisk in half the egg (sorry, this is a bit wasteful if you are cooking just one portion—take this as a good reason to cook 2 portions!). Mix flour and bakign powder, and fold into the butter mixture several times. Finally, stir in date mixture and mix well.

Grease ramekins using a little butter and pour batter into ramekins. They shouldn’t be filled all the way to the top to allow the pudding to expand. Place in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes.

For the sauce, mix sauce ingredients in a saucepan and whisk well. Place over medium high heat and stir regularly until everything has combined fully and sugar has dissolved.

Tip the pudding out of the ramekin (use a knife gently around the edges if it is sticking slightly). Pour sauce over and enjoy! It’s extra special served with a dollop of ice cream on the top—yum!