CHAI SPICED STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING

Doesn't really get any more British than a sticky toffee pudding really does it? That piping hot dessert of a chopped date based sponge slathered in decedent toffee sauce is the perfect way to round off any meal. Can it be improved in anyway? I've tried it in the past with my Nutty Version but I think I may of done one better with my Chai spice infused version I'm about to share with you below. The hint of those Indian spices adds additional flavor and intrigue that, if there is any room left, will have you going back for a second bowl in no time.

Chai spice tea bags can be found in most large supermarkets or world food shops. Its got that slight Christmas vibe going on with the hint of cinnamon, ginger and all spice in the mix making it a fabulous treat for this time of the year. If you wish to go totally traditional then leave out the soaking of the tea bags part in the recipe below and you still have yourself a yummy sticky toffee pudding or if you still want to give it a bit of twist then go with my Nutty Sticky Toffee Pudding if you like your desserts to have that touch of crunch in them.

That's all that needs to be said really. I might of tinkered with the traditional sticky toffee pudding recipe but you don't want to try too far otherwise you'll have something else entirely. Just make sure you have a 22cm round cake time and that you make the cake just before you wish to serve it so that it's still warm. Quite frankly, serving cold sticky toffee pudding is criminal!

Chai Spiced Sticky Toffee Pudding

150g Pitted And Chopped Dates

2 Chai Spice Tea Bags

180g Softened Butter

130g Soft Light Brown Sugar

2 Whole Eggs

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

 2 Tbsp Golden Syrup

2 Tsp Bicarbonate Of Soda

200g Plain Flour

100g Soft Dark Brown Sugar

150ml Double Cream

1. Grease and line your tin and pop that oven straight on to 180 degrees (160 fan).
2. Pop the dates and tea bags into a bowl and pour over 220ml of boiling water and leave to one side.
3. Pop 80g of the butter in a bowl with the light brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy before adding the eggs in one at a time, beating after each addition until well combined. Add in the vanilla extract and syrup and beat again until well combined.
4. At this point, remove the tea bags from the bowl with thedates and add in the bicarbonate of soda and leave to one side whilst it foams up slightly.
5. Add the flour to the pudding mix and fold it through gently until combined and you see no streaks of flour in the mix. Add in the dates with the water and gently fold again until combined and the dates are well distributed.
6. Pour the pudding mix into the prepared tin and level it out. Pop in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until the top of the cake has darken and an inserted skewer comes out nice and clean.
7. Whilst the pudding bakes prepare your toffee sauce by adding the remaining 100g butter, dark brown sugar and double cream into a pan and place on a medium heat on your hob. Stir constantly until everything has melted together, the sugar has dissolves and the sauce has darkened and gone lovely and smooth. 
8. Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool slightly for just a few minutes before removing from the tin. Slice into portions and pour oven over the toffee sauce to serve.

The debate now is do you serve the pudding with ice cream, custard or cream. I would go for ice cream every time but I'll leave that decision up too you as it's very much a person to person preference. If you want to make the pudding in advance you can leave it to fully cool in the tin, remove and then when your ready to serve I like to portion out the pudding into bowls and pour the sauce over before popping in the oven. This will help to keep the pudding moist as putting it back in the oven on it's own can cause it to dry out. Chai spiced sticky toffee pudding; a simple way to turn a classic into something really special!