One cold, rainy weekend (yes, they do happen in Brisbane), I was browsing online for something sweet and comforting to make using only what I had in the pantry. I came across this recipe for sticky toffee muffins and was enticed immediately. Easy to put together, though they do make a few dishes, these were a big hit in our house and definitely best served warm.
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups pitted dates
• 1 teaspoon bi-carb
• 175g unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour
• 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup (150g) firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoon golden syrup
• 1 cup (250ml) thickened cream, plus extra to serve
Firstly, preheat your oven to 180° and line a 12-hole muffin pan with some patty-pans.
Place the whole dates in a small saucepan with 1 cup of tap water and then bring to the boil. Once boiling, add the bi-carb soda and 60g of butter. Stir to dissolve and then remove from the heat top cool.
While the dates cool, sift the flour into a large bowl, add caster sugar and mix. Then add the eggs and vanilla essence.
Place the dates in a food processor and blend to a rough paste. Add to the bowl with the flour and mix through with the eggs and vanilla essence.
Pour the mixture into the patty pans and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
While the muffins bake, make the toffee sauce by melting the remaining butter together with the brown sugar, golden syrup and cream in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, until thickened.
Serve the muffins warm, pouring over a generous serve of the toffee sauce and a dollop of extra cream.
Alternatively, ice with your favourite caramel icing (I used one from Merle’s Kitchen) once the muffins have cooled.
Just like individual sticky-date puddings, these are delicious for dessert but also do well for a rich afternoon tea treat.For my part, this is the first “sticky-date pudding recipe” I have ever made and I was pleasantly surprised at how well they turned out, for something whipped up on a whim.
A Tale of Two Kitchens 