Gluten Free Sticky Date Pudding

This gluten free sticky date pudding is the ultimate comfort dessert, it’s soft, rich and topped with a decadent butterscotch sauce. I was lucky enough to create this recipe in collaboration with Organic Times, so you'll find a few of their beautiful certified organic baking staples throughout, including their bicarb soda, butter, rapadura sugar and blackstrap molasses. One of my favourite ingredients in this recipe is the Organic Times Blackstrap Molasses. It gives both the pudding and the butterscotch sauce a rich, caramel-like flavour, while naturally providing small amounts of minerals like (non-heme) iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Combined with the fibre and antioxidants found in the dates, it's a lovely way to add a little extra nourishment to a classic dessert.

Gluten-free + nut-free
Makes: 6 muffins or 8 squares

STICKY DATE INGREDIENTS

• 250g dried dates

• 1 ¾ tsp Organic Times Bicarb Soda (divided)

• 3 cups boiling water

• 2 eggs

• 100g Organic Times Unsalted Butter, melted

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 90g rice flour

• 70g tapioca flour

• 2 Tbsp coconut flour

• ¾ cup warm water

• 1 Tbsp Organic Times Blackstrap Molasses

BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE INGREDIENTS

• ⅓ cup Organic Times Rapadura Sugar

• 80g Organic Times Unsalted Butter

• 1 cup cream

• 1 Tbsp Organic Times Blackstrap Molasses

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add the dried dates, 1 tsp of the bicarb soda and the boiling water to a stainless steel bowl. Leave to soak for 20 minutes. The bicarb helps soften the dates, making them extra tender.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a slice tin with baking paper, or line a muffin tray if making muffins.

3. Once the dates have soaked, drain and rinse them well to remove any remaining bicarb and water.

4. Add the soaked dates, remaining ¾ tsp bicarb soda, eggs, melted butter, cinnamon, rice flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, warm water and molasses to a food processor. Blend until smooth and well combined.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared slice tin, or divide evenly between muffin cases. Bake for 22–25 minutes, or until cooked through.

6. While the pudding bakes, make the butterscotch sauce by adding the rapadura sugar, butter, cream and molasses to a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, and until it has started to reduce.

7. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to cool down. It will continue to thicken as it cools.

8. Serve the warm sticky date pudding with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream, then generously drizzle over the butterscotch sauce. Enjoy!