Tom's absolute favourite pub pud, made extra special with a salted caramel sauce. And you can't go wrong with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream served alongside.
Ingredients
For the Puddings:
For the Salted Caramel Sauce:
To Serve:
Method
Preheat the oven to 160C fan.
Chop up the dates roughly and place into a small heatproof bowl. Sprinkle in the bicarbonate of soda, pour on the boiling water and cover. Leave the dates to soften for around 30 minutes.
Prepare your pudding moulds (6 x 200ml) by brushing the inside of each one with a little melted butter. Place the moulds into the fridge until needed.
When the dates are soft, mash them well with a fork and then pour over the rum and mix.
Place the beef suet, sugar and eggs into a mixing bowl and beat together with an electric whisk until smooth. Add the dates to the bowl along with the vanilla extract and mix well. Lastly add the flour and milk and fold into the mixture until combined.
Divide the batter into the 6 pudding moulds, and carefully place them onto an oven tray. Put the tray on the middle shelf in the oven and cook for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile make the salted caramel sauce by putting the sugar into a high sided saucepan. Place the pan over a high heat until all the sugar has melted and turns a deep amber in colour.
Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the cream and swirl the pan until it has all incorporated. Take the pan off the heat, tip in the butter and salt, stir until the butter has all melted.
When the puddings are cooked, remove them from the oven and leave to cool slightly before turning them out to serve. Trim off any excess pudding, using a serrated knife to create a flat base. Place in serving bowls and spoon over the salted caramel sauce. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Special Equipment:
6 x 200ml individual pudding moulds
