Preheat oven to 350 F

Mix in a bowl that fits:

20oz dried dates, pitted and finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups boiling water

Leave to soak and fizz for at least 15 mins.

Find your biggest mixing bowl mix and sift into it:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a food processor whip until fluffy:

10 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups light brown sugar

Then add one at a time
5 large eggs

Oops I forgot to add 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Mix the butter, sugar, egg mixture with the flour, then add the date mixture. Turn gently you don’t want to loose the air you have created. The mixture should be gloppy ( my grandmother’s term for when it falls off the spatula or mixing spoon in a slow but not hesitant plop back into the bowl, the mixture should level itself back out within a minute if you stop stirring) I added an extra tablespoon of water at the end as it looked a little dry.

Spray a 10×20″ Pyrex baking dish with cooking spray, then pour the mixture into the pan.

Bake pudding in oven for 35-50 minutes until risen and brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

While it is cooking make the caramel sauce. Mix in a small pan heat until it is bubbly and frothy Be careful it will be very hot.

2 cups light brown sugar
8 oz unsalted butter
3/4 cup whipping cream

When the pudding is done remove and let cool for 10 minutes before making small holes in the top with a skewer. Then pour the hot toffee sauce over the top of the cake. The holes will open up like clams at low tide, take a little time to move the toffee sauce to refill them.

The finished pudding can be cooled and stored in the fridge over night before warming through and serving with unsweetened whipped cream, ice cream, or custard

Adapted from: http://www.joyofbaking.com/StickyToffeePudding.html