Ingredients

For the date base:
200g stoneless dried dates
200ml water
For the pudding:
45g unsalted butter, room temperature
140g soft dark brown sugar
2 large free range eggs
170g date base (see above)
170g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
For the fudge sauce (the yield is generous, but we know everyone loves extra sauce):
175g caster sugar
50ml water
50g glucose (available in all supermarkets)
10g unsalted butter
340ml double cream

Method

Serves 4-6 (depending on how hungry you are!)

For the date base:

For the date base, place both ingredients in a pan and boil and then simmer for 3 minutes until the dates are soft. Remove from the heat, liquidise and cool down.

For the pudding :

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC / gas mark 4.

For the pudding, cream the butter and sugar in a food processor, slowly add the eggs, mixing well. Add the date base. Sieve in the flour and baking powder, and carefully fold by hand into the mix. Pipe or spoon into well-greased ramekins up to ¾ full, and bake for 17-20 minutes until golden brown. If you stick a knife in, it will come out clean. Allow to cool a little and remove from the ramekins.

For the fudge sauce:

The fudge sauce can be made whilst the sponges are being cooked. Dissolve the sugar into the water in a deep, thick-bottomed saucepan, washing the sides of the pan down with the water so that there are no visible sugar crystals showing. Place on a medium heat until the mixture begins to boil. At this stage, add the glucose and again wash down any visible sugar on the sides of the pan. Increase the heat. Once the sugar is a caramel colour, gently stir in half the cream and butter. Please do this carefully to avoid burning yourself! Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes and then add the rest of the double cream. Sieve the fudge and keep to one side.

To assemble, the puddings slice off the tops and discard (or eat!). Cut each one horizontally into 3 discs. Re-heat the sauce. Then, put one disc back into the ramekin. Add sauce and repeat the process until all 3 discs are done – covering the top with a little sauce so that the sponge is doused in the sauce. Press down with the back of a spoon. Cover each with clingfilm and leave in the fridge for at least a couple of hours (if not overnight).

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC / gas mark 4.

Put some water into a deep baking tray (but not so much that it would cover the ramekins) and put the ramekins into the tray. Bake in this bain marie for 12 minutes. At The Ivy, we serve this with vanilla ice cream. You can use this or crème fraiche.

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