One of the many great things about traveling is getting to sample the foods that define and enrich each country—the traditional favorites that both locals and visitors alike devour with delight. A favorite dessert among the Aussies—and one that “mums” across this South Pacific country bake with love—is their sticky date pudding. Actually a super-moist cake, sticky date pudding is a warm and (as the name implies) sticky dessert that is deliciously drizzled with caramel sauce and often served with a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream on top.
We recently asked our South Pacific Regional General Manager, Simon Kay, for his recipe for this satisfying after-dinner treat. You can follow his simple recipe below to enjoy sticky date pudding at home, or sample it at an authentic Australian restaurant when you travel with us to Australia, New Zealand & Fiji.
Ingredients:
Pudding
¾ cup pitted dates
1 cup hot water
½ tsp. baking soda
2 Tbs. butter
¾ cup superfine sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup sifted self-raising flour
Sauce
2/3 cup brown sugar
½ cup cream
2 Tbs. butter
½ tsp. vanilla extract
Preparation:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium saucepan, cover pitted dates with hot water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for three minutes.
- Add baking soda to dates, then remove pan from heat and let cool.
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs one at a time.
- Pour cooled dates into bowl with butter and sugar mixture, and add vanilla extract. Stir.
- Gently fold in flour, stirring lightly.
- Pour mixture into greased muffin tins to create individual puddings and bake for about 30 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- For the caramel sauce, combine brown sugar, cream, butter, and vanilla extract in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring until smooth—about three minutes.
- Pour a small amount of caramel sauce over baked puddings and return to oven until the sauce is bubbly—about two to three minutes.
- Serve individual puddings with remaining caramel sauce drizzled over top. The pudding is great served hot with ice cream or whipped cream, but can also be served cold.
Servings: 6
Enjoy this traditional Aussie treat—and others like it—on our Australia, New Zealand & Fiji vacation.