not sticky toffee pudding … Moist Date Cake with Brown Sugar Caramel Glaze

Sticky toffee pudding has always intrigued me. It’s warm, nice and moist and bathed in a buttery caramel sauce that reels me in every time. Warm caramel sauce is my thing. What has always surprised me is this cake has dates in it. It’s a date cake with caramel poured over, which in theory, always sounds a bit odd to this Yank. Dates have really come on strong in the last few years but sticky toffee pudding has been a thing in Great Britain for forever, best as I can tell. For good reason too … it’s delicious.

Traditionally, sticky toffee pudding was baked in a pudding mold placed in a pan of water and gently steamed on the stovetop in a very proper British fashion though I can’t say that I’ve ever done it this way. I just pour it in a baking pan and pop it into the oven in a fairly normal fashion, pouring the toffee sauce over while still warm so it’s seeps in a bit and makes everything delightful. But I had a thought … could you do it as a bundt cake? Not traditional in any way but I wanted to bring the cake to a party and transporting a warm pan of cake with a sticky, gooey sauce (and keeping that way) isn’t exactly party-guest friendly. So I tried it.

Short answer: no. No you can’t. Poking holes in the cake and pouring some of the warm sauce over to seep in doesn’t work as well in bundt form as it’s too deep of a pan. Also a cooled, set glaze on top, while pretty, doesn’t give that same warm gooey sensation. So on those two key qualities I would say it fails BUT it is still a delicious cake. It just isn’t sticky toffee pudding. It is nice and moist, keeps well and the toffee sauce sets up in that way that brown sugar glazes do – sort of buttery and crystallized and irresistible.

In the midst of making this (a few times), I did follow some of the traditional methods. The dates are soaked with a bit of baking soda to soften, but I use earl grey tea for an extra layer of flavor. I used both light and dark brown sugar to add more flavor and moistness because I really like what brown sugar can add to a cake. Then in a move that will likely make a few proper British ladies gasp, I added a bit of cinnamon to the batter for a bit of spice note. I do poke the warm cake a few times with a wooden skewer to let a bit of the hot sauce sink in, but you have to sort of ease it in here and there and turn it out of the pan rather quickly before those drizzles set up like glue. Then after the sauce cools a bit, I pour it over the top to set in a crystallized, caramelized glaze dotted with bits of date and a few pinches of flaky salt because that brown sugar sweet-salty combination is undeniably good. So here I offer you a new form of not-sticky toffee pudding cake … a moist date cake with a brown sugar caramel glaze. Enjoy!

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: CARAMEL DELICIOUSNESS. This is a great fall cake, full of deep sweet and salty flavors that keeps well. It wasn’t quite what I was going for originally but sometimes ideas your form in your head don’t turn out as planned in reality. Rather, they turn into something completely different that is just as delightful. If you’re looking for a stress free sweet to bring to a party, to have around for nice breakfast nibbles or just a delicious after school snack, dive in.

ten years ago: Peach Crostada, Ratatouille,Classic Apple Pie, Lattice Love – Lessons in Pie Crust, Squash & Onion Tart, Seedling Harvest Party, Cucumber Kimchi, Multigrain Bread, Cleaning Out the Freezer, Chicken Salad Full of Good Things
nine years ago: Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Turnovers, Chicken Sour Cream Enchiladas, Bangkok World Gourmet Festival, Radish Butter, Roasted Beets w/Whipped Goat Cheese, Sautéed Beet Greens, Chicken Pot Pie, Classic Wedge Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
eight years ago: PB&J Bars, Concord Grape Pie & Purple Cow Pie Shakes,
Simple Apple Cake, Maple Buttermilk Spoonbread with Glazed Pears
seven years ago: Kale & Squash Salad
six years ago: Spiced Honey Maple Roasted Pears, Muhammara – the best sauce you’ve never heard of, Pickled Green Cherry Tomatoes, Apple Cider Compote and an Orchard Party
five years ago: Pumpkin Hummus, Whole Wheat English Muffins,
Seeded Crackers, Sherry Candied Walnut Salad, Roasted Delicata Squash – 4 Ways
four years ago: Cotija Cumin Shortbread, Simple Pear Tart, Thai Peanut Butter
three years ago:Chicken Wing Friday – Miso Honey Butter Chicken Wings, Finnish Pulla (Finnish Cardamom Braid), Ricotta Gnudi with Cherry Tomato Pesto Sauce, Chocolate Malt Cookies, Kale Salad with Crispy Salami & Chickpeas
two years ago: Ottolenghi and Buttermilk Garlic Sauce, Easy Squash Carrot Soup,
Yemen Schug (chili herb sauce), Confetti Pork Stew, Pickle Brined Spicy Chicken Sandwiches, Cherry Coke Sorbet, Homemade Sour Cherry Cracker Jack, Fresh Apple Fritters, Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread
last year:Sausage & Cheddar Breakfast Scones, French Apple Tart for a Crowd, The Original Kale Salad

MOIST DATE CAKE WITH BROWN SUGAR CARAMEL GLAZE
makes one standard bundt cake, serves 16

for the cake:
2 ½ cups boiling water
2 Earl Grey tea bags
16 ounces pitted dates, roughly chopped (2 ½ cups chopped)
2 teaspoons baking soda
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp cut in pieces (4oz/1 stick)
1 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the sauce:
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon brandy
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

for garnish:
3 dates, pitted & diced, for garnish
several pinches of flaky salt, like Maldon

1. Prepare the oven: preheat to 350°F and place a rack in the lower third.
2. Prepare the pan: coat an 8-cup standard bundt pan with a thin layer of soft butter, rubbing into all the edges and crevasses.
3. Pour in a couple spoonfuls of flour on the center core and rotate the pan, to coat the entire core with a light layer of flour.
4. Add more flour to the bottom of the pan if needed, and continue to rotate to cover all surfaces.
5. Tip out the excess flour (generally in the garbage can – you don’t necessarily want any stray bits of butter coated bits back in your flour container) then turn upside down (in the sink or garbage can) and give the pan several good, firm whacks to remove any excess flour. Set the pan aside until needed. Note: evenly coating the pan is very important if you hope to get this cake out in one piece.
6. For the dates: place the teabags in a liquid measuring cup, pour in the boiling water, cover plastic wrap and let steep 5 minutes.
7. Place the chopped dates and baking soda in a medium bowl and cover with the steeped tea, tucking the tea bags in the bowl. Set aside for 15 minutes, uncovered. Give the mixture a stir once or twice to break up the clumps.
8. Discard tea bags.
9. For the cake: in a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon; set aside.
10. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both brown sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl.
11. Add two of the eggs, and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl.
12. Add the remaining two eggs and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl.
13. With mixer running on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture then the liquid from the soaking dates. Mix until just combined.
14. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture, then the dates and mix until just combined.
15. Add the final 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Scrape the bowl.
16. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan, smooth the top and bake until the top is firm and a toothpick inserted just off center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes.
17. Set the pan on a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes and make the sauce.
18. For the sauce: combine all the ingredients except the brandy and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
19. Boil 3 minutes, until thickened.
20. Remove from the heat and stir in the brandy and vanilla.
21. Pierce the warm cake several times with a wooden skewer and pour about ½ cup of the sauce over the cake, letting it soak in. Go slow and easy to avoid overflows and use the skewer to gently pull the cake slightly away from the pan sides and center to allow the sauce to seep down.
22. Set a timer for 10 minutes and leave the saucepan off the heat to cool and thicken a bit.
23. At 10 minutes, put a wire rack on top of the cake pan, give it a flip and carefully remove the pan. You might have to give it a few taps to loosen. Be patient – if you greased/floured the pan properly, it will release.
24. Let the cake cool another 15 minutes on the wire rack set over a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
25. Drizzle remaining sauce on top of cake (it’s a sauce temperature game at this point. If too thick, gently rewarm. If too loose, let it sit until desired thickness.)
26. Top with the chopped dates and several pinches of flaky salt while the glaze is still wet.
27. The cake will keep, tightly wrapped, for several days.