Intro
I had to share this recipe as well.
This is another family holiday favorite. It’s so easy to throw together, gets better with age, and feels festive and indulgent without any fuss.
This recipe is also found in Let’s Stay In as part of our Christmas Tea menu where I usually serve it as cupcakes with a hefty dollop of unsweetened whipped cream.
I’ve always loved the idea of Sticky Toffee Pudding. Tender cake sweetened with dates, served with a warm buttery toffee sauce. But I so often found the end result too sweet. Enter cranberries. Their vibrant color reinforce a seasonal flare and their tart bite cut through the sweetness in a way that has me pining for this cake long after the holidays are over. Thank goodness for frozen cranberries.
Cranberry Sticky Toffee Date Cake
Yield 8-10 servings
Ingredients
Cake
8 ounces/ 230 g pitted medjool dates, roughly chopped
1 cup/ 240 ml boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons/ 60 g butter, melted
3/4 cup/ 160 g packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup/ 140 g all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups / 170 g fresh (or frozen) roughly chopped cranberries
Salted Butterscotch Sauce (half the recipe from Bittersweet Chocolate Cake)
1/2 cup / 100 g dark brown sugar
1/2 cup / 120 ml heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons rum
Pinch sea salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 inch cake pan then line the bottom with parchment paper.
Add the dates to a bowl then cover with the boiling water. Stir in the baking soda then let this mixture sit until the dates are soft enough to easily break up with a fork, about 5 minutes. Mash them up a bit then set aside.
In a large bowl stir together the melted butter and brown sugar then whisk in the eggs and salt. Add the flour and softened date mixture then stir well to combine. Stir in the chopped cranberries.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the cake springs back slowly when gently pressed in the center.
For the toffee sauce:
Bring the sugar, cream, and butter to a boil in a large saucepan. Boil for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat then carefully stir in the salt and rum.
When ready to serve pour the warm toffee sauce over the cake. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
*This recipe also works well for cupcakes. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes.
nice flavors in this cake, packed with natural sweetness in the dates and I like the cranberry contrast with it, thank you!