Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce (Gluten and Dairy Free)

I definitely have a tendency to procrastinate.

If it seems too hard or it will take too long, it slips right to the bottom of my to-do list (possibly never to be seen again!)

Anything I've read about procrastination says that you need to do the hard stuff first.

Basically, if there is anything you're avoiding, just get up and do it first thing - it will be over and done with and set you up to have a really productive day.

Take this post for example.

I made this Sticky Date Pudding for our Christmas in July party. Yep July. And it's now the middle of October.

I'm not sure why it's been so hard to post lately but today I am taking my own advice and I'm just gonna do it!

So, sticky date pudding. A bit of a classic and a little retro. But things are a classic for a reason and a dessert that tastes this good never really goes out of style.

Sweet, sticky, decadent, and packed with warming spices and a good splash of brandy. Perfect for cold weather (it was just a pity the cold snap had ended and it was 28 degrees that day in July!).

Often when you go gluten and dairy free you can feel like you're missing out. Ingredients can't always be substituted one-for-one and I can tell you, I've had some spectacular failures. Think pizza bases as hard as cement or muffins that taste like cardboard. It's so frustrating! Not to mention a big waste of ingredients and money.

This sticky date pudding is definitely special occasion fare - and for a special occasion you want something that works.

I actually made 2 different versions of sticky date pudding, baking one in the oven (this one pictured) and steaming one in a pudding bowl in the slow cooker. I wasn't sure which technique would work the best, but in the end, they both did!

So I will be keeping that in mind and I have a feeling the steamed version will make an appearance at our Christmas Eve dinner along with some cinnamon coconut ice cream. My mouth is watering already!

Ok yes, there is a LOT of sugar here, but for Christmas (or Christmas in July) I have no problem with it. In saying that though, I am planning on experimenting a bit more and seeing how it goes with most or even all of the sugar taken out and with just the dates for sweetness.

Gluten and Dairy Free Sticky Date Pudding

200g pitted dried dates
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup very hot water
2 ts bicarb soda
2/3 cup coconut sugar
60g coconut oil, melted
3 eggs
1 ts vanilla extract
170g gluten free flour
2 1/2 ts baking powder
1/4 ts salt
1 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts ground ginger

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 160 degrees fan-forced.

Grease and line a loaf pan with baking paper and set aside (I used a pyrex loaf pan).

Roughly chop the dates and place in a heatproof bowl. Add the brandy and the hot water and leave to stand for 10 minutes or until the dates have softened. Once soft, mash the dates and water together and stir in the bicarb soda.

To this mixture, add the coconut oil, eggs and vanilla and mix together until very well combined.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ginger with a whisk.

Pour the date and egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until the top springs back and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Suitable for freezing.

Serve with butterscotch sauce for an indulgent dessert.

This sauce was truly a revelation. I admit it's been many years since I had a real butterscotch sauce but this dairy free version was amazing. So rich and creamy. It would be perfect over coconut ice cream with a sprinkle of crushed nuts. Yum!

Dairy-free Butterscotch Sauce

1/2 cup coconut cream
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
2 ts vanilla extract
1/4 ts sea salt
1/2 ts cream of tartar

Place all ingredients except cream of tartar into a medium pot and bring to the boil. Add the cream of tartar and stir until completely dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil for 5 minutes or until it reaches 110 degrees Celsius / 230 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

Pour immediately into a clear glass jar. Allow to cool to luke warm before serving (it is like molten lava once it is cooked so don't lick the spoon or stick your finger in for a taste - it will burn you!!!)

Pour over warm pudding just before serving.

Are you a procrastinator like me? 

Chocolate Pecan Pie (SRC)

I've been doing a lot of baking lately but it's been all muffins, bliss balls and breads. It seems like aaaages since I've made a proper dessert - something the kids get really excited over and that seems a bit special.

As this is my first month with Group C in the Secret Recipe Club (after moving across from Group D) I thought I would celebrate and choose something sweet and out of the ordinary!

This month I was assigned The Avid Appetite by Rachel who lives in Jersey City with her husband and gorgeous daughter Penelope (the cutest name ever). I loved spending time on Rachel's blog and   apart from a love of food (obviously), found we have a quite lot in common such as loving overnight oats for breakfast to being a fan of both Castle and Gretchen Ruben!

I was really spoilt for choice when it came to selecting a recipe and there were loads that I bookmarked for later. I love the sound of her Vanilla Cinnamon Quinoa for a protein-packed breakfast, I'm intrigued by the Pumpkin Butter and my boys would go crazy for these Banana Bars with Chocolate Frosting.

It was the Chocolate Pecan Pie adapted from a Paula Deen recipe that really caught my eye though (I have a bit of a soft spot for Paula Deen after reading her autobiography a few years ago).

(Does anyone else remember 'pecan pie' scene from When Harry Met Sally?)

I was prepared to make a few changes in order to fit in with our wholefoods way of eating, and just a couple of simple switches later we had the most amazing, but not too sweet, dessert!

We LOVED this. Perfectly short pastry, sweet nutty filling with little pops of dark chocolate. What's not to love?

Try as I might though I couldn't get a clean slice. I mean, is there a trick to slicing a pecan pie neatly without all the nuts smooshing out the sides? Still the taste made up for the messiness. DELICIOUS!

Chocolate Pecan Pie
Adapted from Paula Deen via The Avid Appetite

Shortcrust Pastry (my own recipe):

300g wholemeal spelt flour
2 ts coconut sugar
160g cold butter, diced
1/3 cup cold water, approx

Place all ingredients except the water into a food processor and blitz until it forms breadcrumbs. Add the water a little at a time until the dough comes together and forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough in between 2 sheets of baking paper, large enough to fit a 22cm tart dish. Either wrap the remainder of the dough and place in the freezer for another time or roll it flat and cut out cookies to bake at the same time as the pie. My boys love this!

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.

Filling:

2 cups pecans
3 large eggs, beaten
3 tbs melted butter, cooled
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
1 tbs molasses
1/2 cup coconut sugar
100g dark chocolate, chopped (I used Lindt 85%)

Scatter pecans over the uncooked pastry shell.

Place the eggs, butter, syrup, sugar and chocolate into a mixing bowl and whisk together until well combined. Pour the mixture over the pecans.

Place the pie onto a baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 180 degrees and cook for a further 25 minutes or until set.

Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely.

Thanks for a great recipe Rachel! My family loved it.

An InLinkz Link-up

BWJ - Boca Negra

I'd never heard of a Boca Negra cake before so was curious to see how these would turn out. Well, let me just say that a Boca Negra cake is the most intensely chocolatey cake I have ever made. Ever.

We don't do bourbon in this house so I subbed in some coffee instead and also went for a lightly sweetened whipped cream to serve. OMG. So rich, soooo delicious.

I'm very glad I did just 1/4 of the recipe, using my little heart shaped springform pan which only sees the light of day for Valentine's Day.

So my 1/4 recipe used 100g dark chocolate (I used Lindt 85% cocoa), 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tbs strong coffee, 60g butter, 2 eggs and 2 ts plain flour. It baked for around 22 minutes and was just right. At room temperature it was silky and luscious, out of the fridge later it was like fudge.

The kids each had a bite and hubby and I polished off the rest. YUM.

To get the recipe and make your own Boca Negra visit out our host Cathy of A Frederick Food Garden.