This is Jack’s favourite hot pudding so there was no problem deciding what to serve up for his recent birthday pudding. The only down side of it was that we were all so full up after it that we didn’t have any space left for birthday cake.

3 oz butter (75g)
5 oz sugar (150g)
2 eggs, beaten
6 oz self-raising flour (175g)
6 oz stoned dates, chopped (175g)
6 fl oz boiling water (175 ml)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

For the topping

3 oz brown sugar (75g)
2 oz butter (50g)
3 tablespoons of double cream

Grease the dish which you intend to use, as you can see I’ve used a Pyrex dish.

Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy, then add the beaten eggs gradually and mix well together. Then fold in the flour, using a metal spoon.

Put the chopped dates into a separate bowl and pour in the boiling water. Add the vanilla essence, the coffee granules and the bicarbonate of soda. Stir well then using a sieve drain the liquid into the creamed mixture and mix it all together until it is a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the prepared dish, then sprinkle the dates on top of the mixture.

Bake in the centre of the oven gas mark 4, 350 F, 180 C, for about 45 minutes, until the top is rounded and springy to the touch.

About ten minutes before the end of the baking time mix all the topping ingredients together in a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar is dissolved and it’s bubbling.

As soon as you take the cake out of the oven stab it all over with a skewer and pour the topping all over it.

This can be eaten cold but we prefer to have it hot with cream or ice cream and I always make at least double the amount of the toffee sauce because we all love it and then we can have a lovely puddle of sauce.

As you can imagine this is very fattening so it is best kept for high days and holidays, or even Sunday!