Christmas sticky toffee pudding

Name: Christmas sticky toffee pudding
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 75 g Kerrygold butter, softened, plus extra for greasing; 150 g stoned dates, roughly chopped; 55 ml brandy; 100 g light brown soft sugar; ½ tsp vanilla extract; 1½ tbsp clear honey; 2 clementines, zest and juice; 2 eggs; 130 g self-raising flour; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 1 tsp mixed spice; ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg; 1 dessert apple, peeled, cored and grated; double cream or ice cream, to serve (optional)

This is a Christmas pudding for Christmas pudding sceptics. A twist on a classic sticky toffee sponge, it's flavoured with the heady combination of tangy clementines and rich brandy.

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Vegetarian

Serves8
CourseDessert
Prepare30 mins
Cook1 hr 15 mins
Total time1 hr 45 mins

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Ingredients

75g Kerrygold butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
150g stoned dates, roughly chopped
55ml brandy
100g light brown soft sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1½ tbsp clear honey
2 clementines, zest and juice
2 eggs
130g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp mixed spice
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 dessert apple, peeled, cored and grated
double cream or ice cream, to serve (optional)

SAUCE

175g golden caster sugar
2 clementines, segmented
100g Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter
50ml double cream
¼ tsp sea salt flakes
1 tbsp brandy

Method

Preheat the oven to 160˚C, gas mark 3. Grease a 1.2 litre ovenproof pudding basin and line the base with a circle of baking parchment. Put the dates, brandy and 175ml water in a pan, bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring a little, until a thick paste has formed; set aside.
Put the butter, sugar, vanilla, honey and clementine zest (reserve the juice for the sauce) in a large bowl and beat with electric beaters until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition until combined. In another bowl, mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, spices and a pinch of salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and fold in, then gently stir in the date purèe and grated apple until combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pudding basin, smooth the top and bake for 50 minutes-1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the pudding comes out almost clean, covering with foil after 30 minutes if browning too quickly. Leave in the basin, on a cooling rack, while you prepare the sauce.
Line a baking tray with parchment. Put the sugar in a frying pan over a medium heat. Heat to dissolve and then until bubbling and golden; do not stir. Take off the heat, swirl in the clementine segments and, when completely coated, use a slotted spoon to lift them out onto the prepared baking tray; set aside. Carefully add the butter, cream and reserved clementine juice to the caramel residue in the pan, return to the heat, bring to a simmer and stir together to make a toffee sauce. Add the salt and brandy, then take off the heat.
To serve, turn the pudding out onto a serving plate. Spoon over some of the sauce and decorate the top with the caramelised clementine segments. Serve with the remaining sauce and cream or ice cream, if liked.

Cook’s tip

To top with spun sugar, as shown, first lay 2 greased wooden spoons on a sheet of baking parchment. Make more caramel by melting 200g caster sugar in a frying pan. When deep gold, take off the heat, dip in a fork, then take the thread of caramel slowly back and forth over the spoon handles. When cool, place the spun sugar on top of the pudding.