Cooking with Wine

Remove pits and finely chop the dates. Put them into a bowl, then pour the boiling water over them and let them soak for about 30 mins until cool. While the dates are soaking, follow the steps below to make the batter for the pudding base. After 30 minutes, stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract into the date/water mixture and blend it into a puree using an immersion blender, regular blender, or food processor (alternatively, mash with a fork).
Preheat oven to 350° F (180°C). Grease 6 mini bundt pans or a 12-ct cupcake pan (we use Bakers Joy or butter and dust with flour). Place pans on a baking sheet in case of overflow during baking.
Mix flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda together and set aside. Break and beat the eggs in a separate bowl and set aside.
Beat butter and sugar together in a large bowl for a few minutes until slightly creamy. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well between additions.
Beat in molasses then gently fold in one-third of the flour mixture. Next, add half of the milk (1 3/4 oz). Be careful not to over mix here. Repeat until all the flour mixture and all milk is used.
Stir the date puree into the pudding batter. The mix may look a little curdled at this point which is fine.
Spoon it evenly between the tins (3/4 full) and bake for 20-25 mins, until raised and firm. Test for doneness by sticking a toothpick or wooden skewer into the center of the puddings. If they are done, the toothpick should come out dry and clean.

Make the Toffee Sauce
While the puddings bake, add the light brown sugar and butter pieces for the sauce in a medium saucepan with half of the cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Stir in the molasses, turn up the heat slightly and let the mixture bubble away for 2-3 mins until it’s a rich toffee color. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Take the sauce pan off the heat and stir in the rest of the cream.
Remove the puddings from the oven, but leave them in the tins for a few mins, then loosen them well from the sides with a small palette knife before turning them out upside down onto a cooling rack.
You can serve them now with the sauce drizzled over, but they’ll be even stickier if left a day or two coated in the sauce. To do this, pour about half the sauce into one or two ovenproof serving dishes. Place the puddings on the sauce, then pour the rest of the sauce over them. Cover with a loose tent of foil so that it doesn’t stick to the tops of the puddings. When ready to serve, heat oven to 350°F. Warm the puddings through, still covered, for 10-15 mins or until the sauce is bubbling.