blitz and bake sticky toffee Christmas pud

⏲Ready in 1 hour 50 minutes

🍮Serves: 6 – 8 persons

ingredients you need

200g ready-to-eat stoned dates
100g walnuts
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely grated in the food processor
1 dessert apple, peeled, cored, and coarsely grated in the food processor
2 tbsp golden syrup
4 tbsp brandy
100g cold butter, cut into cubes
2 eggs, beaten
140g golden caster sugar
170g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the walnut toffee sauce

175g golden caster sugar
25g walnuts, roughly chopped
100g butter
6 tbsp double cream

instructions

Step: 1 Turn on oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Bombardment the dates in a food processor until chopped a little, next add the walnuts, carrot, apple, golden syrup, and brandy. Pulse a few times until coarsely chopped, but still chunky. Tip in the butter, eggs, and sugar and pulse a few times to mix. Finally, add the flour and bicarbonate soda, and keep tapping the pulse button just until everything comes together. Butter and line the bottom of a 1.5-litre pudding basin with greaseproof paper. Tip the combine in, smooth the peak, and bake for 1 hr 20 mins –1 hr 30 mins or until a skewer is placed into the pudding and comes out almost tidy.

Step: 2 To make the sauce, tip the sugar into a frying pan and place over a medium flame. Prepare until bubbling and golden. Swirl in the walnuts and, when properly coated, use an inserted spoon to lift them out onto a tray lined with greaseproof paper. Leave to firmer; this is the praline. Carefully add the butter and cream to the caramel residue in the pan, return to the flame, bring to a simmer, and whisk with each other to make a toffee sauce.

Step: 3 To serve, break the praline into shards. Turn out the pudding, spoon over some sauce, and decorate with the praline. Plate up with the remaining sauce.