Sticky Fudge Pudding

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This is one of my all time comfort foods to share with the family - made with local fudge.

A rectangular dish with sticky toffee pudding inside.
You will need
  • 150g soft pitted dates, chopped very small
  • 100ml just-boiled water
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 50g soft light brown sugar
  • 75g very soft butter, plus a little extra to grease
  • 2 large eggs
  • 100g full-fat natural yogurt
  • 175g self-raising flour
  • 250g Cornish dairy fudge, cut into quarters, roughly 1.5cm small chunks (75g for the cake, 175g for the sauce)
  • Cornish vanilla ice cream, single cream or custard, to serve
  • 125ml single cream
  • 50g pecan nuts, roughly broken

STEPS

  • Preheat the oven to 190°C fan oven 170°C/gas mark 5 and lightly butter a 2 litre ovenproof baking dish.

  • To make the pudding, put the chopped dates in a medium bowl and pour over the just-boiled water. Sprinkle with the bicarbonate of soda and stir well. Leave to stand while the cake batter is prepared.

  • Put the sugar, butter, eggs, yogurt and flour in a bowl and whisk together with a large metal whisk until smooth. (You can use electric beaters if you prefer).

  • Add the soaked dates and their liquid, stirring well with a wooden spoon.

  • Pour the cake batter into the prepared dish, scatter evenly with the chopped fudge and bake for 28-30 minutes, or until risen and golden brown.

  • Five minutes before the fudgy sponge is ready, prepare the sauce by putting the chopped fudge and cream for the sauce in a medium saucepan and cook over a low heat until the fudge dissolves, stirring gently with a wooden spoon. This will take 4-5 minutes (do not allow to boil).

  • Take the pan off the heat and stir in the pecan nuts, if using.

    DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO TASTE OR TOUCH THE FUDGE SAUCE AS IT WILL BE EXTREMELY HOT.

TO SERVE

  • When the sponge is ready, remove from the oven using oven gloves and carefully pour over the fudge sauce. Serve topped with vanilla ice cream, single cream or custard.

Tilly Tip: To check your ovenproof dish is the right size for this pudding, fill it with 2 litres of cold water from a measuring jug. If you don’t have a dish the right size, try making mini fudge puddings in a muffin tin, lined with muffin cases, instead. You’ll need to reduce the cooking time to around 15-20 minutes.