🇬🇧 United KingdomCatalog recipe
Date-sweetened sponge drenched in bubbling toffee sauce until dark and glossy, served warm with cream pooling into every crevice.
For 6 servings.
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Simmer the dates in 250ml water until soft, then stir in the baking soda (it will foam) and mash roughly.
💡 The baking soda breaks the dates down into a jammy paste and keeps the sponge dark and moist.
Cream 60g of the butter with 100g of the brown sugar until fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time.
Fold in the flour, baking powder and the warm date mixture until just combined; pour into a buttered baking dish.
Bake at 180°C/350°F until a skewer comes out clean.
Meanwhile, simmer the remaining butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and cream together until thick and glossy, for the toffee sauce.
Pierce the warm sponge all over and pour half the sauce through it to soak in.
Serve warm with the remaining sauce poured over.
Popularized by hotel kitchens in England's Lake District in the mid-20th century, building on an older tradition of date-and-treacle sponges. It has since become a fixture on pub dessert menus nationwide, almost always served warm.
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