Celebrate the Holidays with Sticky Date Pudding

Pro runner Christine Babcock impresses her teammates with this warm dessert.

November 25, 2013
Sticky Date Pudding with 300x150

Q: What do you and professional runner/Runner's World columnist Lauren Fleshman have in common?
A: This sticky date pudding will fill you with delight, and sugar.

Lauren tweeted about this treat a couple weeks ago, but the recipe comes from her Oiselle teammate Christine Babcock. She shared it on her blog, A Catalyst for Growth, and obviously, we had to try it ourselves. If two pro runners are eating this, it must be good for the rest of us, right?*

Despite what the ingredients list might make you think, this recipe isn't saccharine—it's a pleasant amount of sweet. It's simple to make (provided you have an electric mixer) and must be served warm. So if you're hosting Thanksgiving this year—or any holiday get-together between then and New Year's—consider trying this.

*In moderation, of course. Don't eat the whole thing yourself and you'll be just fine. We're talking to you, person who wants to ask us for nutrition info.

Sticky Date Pudding
Recipe via Christine Babcock's blog, A Catalyst for Growth

What you'll need:

For the cake:
1 ½ cups pitted, chopped dates, loosely packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ cups boiling water
½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups self-rising flour **(see below)

For the sauce:
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 ¼ cup half and half
½ teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup unsalted butter

How to make it:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8×8 or round cake pan.
2. Place the dates and baking soda in a bowl and pour the boiling water over. Let stand for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Using a large metal spoon fold in the flour mixture and then add the date mixture until thoroughly combined.
4. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick entered in the center comes out clean. Turn immediately onto a plate.
5. Meanwhile, in the last 15-20 minutes of the pudding's bake time, prepare the sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously, until the sauce comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the pudding is ready.
6. Pierce the pudding all over with a skewer. Pour ½-¾ cup of warm sauce over the warm pudding. Let stand for 10 minutes and then serve, drizzling the leftover sauce on top.

**Self-rising flour: If you don’t have any, you can make your own. To get the 1¾ cups called for in the recipe, Christine mixed together 2 cups flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt, then removed ¼ of a cup of the mixture.



