Bring the butter to room temperature before beating – it will make it easier to get as much air as possible into it, resulting in a light, fluffy texture.
It’s important to cool down the date mixture before adding it to the butter mixture, as you don’t want to melt your light and airy butter.
Tip 6
Due to the large amount of water in it, the cake mixture will appear quite runny compared to a normal cake batter but it will result in a lovely moist pud.
Tip 7
Golden syrup adds a rich butterscotch flavour to the sauce. It you prefer it to taste more like caramel, simply omit the golden syrup.
Tip 8
Simmering the sauce thickens it slightly and gives it a richer finish. Keep an eye on it as it can boil up the sides of the pan quickly if the temperature is too hot.
Tip 9
Making small holes in the cake and pouring over butterscotch sauce while still hot allows the sauceto be absorbed, giving it a gooey pudding texture.
Tip 10
If you find it tricky to remove cake from pan once it’s soaked in sauce, place it unsoaked on a rackover a baking tray – but it won’t absorb as much.
Full recipe: Sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce