About the Recipe
These little babies are incredible. They're lusciously gooey, all soaked with toffee sauce, and they make an incredible dessert. The flavors of warm brown sugar, sweet dates, rum, a touch of salt and orange zest... all topped off with a scoop of ice cream... just amazing! Perfect for a late-night indulgence for two, or easily scale up for a larger batch.
Ingredients
Sticky Puddings:
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates (1/4-1/2" dice)
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temp.
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 large egg (whisk one whole egg, only use about 1 1/2 Tbs.)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for pan
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. orange zest, optional
Ice cream, for serving
Toffee Sauce:
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt (plus additional if desired)
Good splash of rum
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 °F. Coat two spaces in a mini bundt pan (or 3-4 spaces in a muffin tin) with cooking spray, then flour. Shake out excess.
Prepare the puddings: Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat, add dates, and let sit for 10-15 min. to soften while you make the pudding batter.
Beat butter and brown sugar until combined, 1-2 min. Add egg and mix until combined. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula if needed.
Strain dates, reserving the liquid. Use a fork or knife on a cutting board to mash them a bit (some chunks are okay). Add to batter, along with dry ingredients, orange zest, and 2 Tbs. of the reserved water. Beat to combine.
Portion evenly between the 2 prepared mini bundts, spread lightly to even out the surfaces. Bake for 20-24 min. until cakes spring back to the touch and/or a toothpick inserted comes out clean. While they bake, prepare the toffee sauce.
Melt butter in a small pot. Whisk in cream, brown sugar and salt and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, whisk in rum. Taste and adjust salt if desired (a little extra really takes it up a notch). Set aside.
Run a small spatula around the edges of each bundt to loosen, then invert onto a cooling rack.
Transfer bundts to small sundae glasses or bowls, and spoon hot toffee sauce over each one to cover. Top each one with a scoop of ice cream and more toffee sauce. Serve immediately.