Ingredients
cooking spray, to grease
2 black tea bags, tags removed
250 g pitted dates, roughly chopped
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
80 g butter, chopped and softened
¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
¼ cup golden syrup
2 eggs
1 ⅓ cups self-raising flour
double cream, to serve
Tea-spiked caramel sauce
300 ml thickened cream
⅔ cup golden syrup
8 black tea bags, tags removed
120 g butter, chopped
½ cup brown sugar
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C fan‑forced (200ºC conventional). Grease a 20cm square tin with cooking oil. Line base and sides with baking paper.
- Put tea bags, dates and 400ml boiling water in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil. Add bicarb and stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside for 30 minutes to cool to room temperature. Remove tea bags.
- Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat, using whisk attachment, for 4 minutes or until light and creamy. Beat in golden syrup and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in cooled date mixture. Sift flour into mixture and stir to combine.
- Pour batter into prepared tin and smooth surface with back of a spoon. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through when tested with a skewer.
- Meanwhile, to make tea-spiked caramel sauce, combine cream and golden syrup in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add tea bags and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes to infuse. Remove tea bags.
- Put butter and sugar in another small pan and heat over a high heat, stirring until bubbling. Stir in cream mixture and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring, for 5 minutes or until golden brown and slightly thickened.
- Cut sticky date pudding into squares. To serve, put squares on serving platter and drizzle with caramel sauce and cream.
