Sherry Sticky Date Pudding

Ingredients

This sherry-enriched sticky date pud is perfect for festive long lunches or decadent dinners. Just don't expect any leftovers! Serves 6.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Add the water, dates, butter, golden syrup, sherry and sugar to a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Stir, bring to a gentle boil and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Leave to cool for 10 minutes
Add the baking soda to the date mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to combine (it will froth up - thats okay!). Sift in the flour and combine, then add the eggs and stir well until the batter is evenly combined. Spoon into a greased baking dish or cake tin and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes
To make the caramel sauce, heat all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until dissolved. Increase to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for up to 10 minutes until the sauce turns a lovely golden caramel colour and starts to stick to the sides of the pan
Pour the warm sauce over the pudding and serve with whipped cream or ice cream

TIP: Both the pudding and sauce can be made in advance and heated up. Heat the pudding in the oven or microwave and the sauce can be easily heated by immersing it, in a jar, into a small pan of simmering water for five minutes