This is a fantastic breakfast cake – which makes it a very special ending to good food, great conversation and learning serendipitously from those at a Bettina Network Table.
We share it with you and hope you enjoy this as much as we do. We do, however, have to give credit where it is due. This recipe was taken from an episode of “Martha Bakes”. A show we record so we don’t miss an episode and from which we have found some mundane and some exceptional recipes.
What we use as a breakfast cake has a long English history. It is called, by some, a Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Our recipe does not stick to the traditional recipe for a Sticky Toffee Pudding so we will call it a fantastic breakfast cake. Many cultures have such a cake – not always with dates, but sticking holes in the cake and pouring a sauce over it is a way of baking that countries over the ages have shared.
Needless to say – all of the ingredients should be Organic. The sugar we find best is Organic Turbinado Sugar. The flour we like best is Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. The milk, eggs and all the rest must absolutely be organic. We use extra large organic eggs. For the salt – Himalayan Salt. And the pots should be glass for this dish. Preferably Corning Glass Pots with the blue cornflower on the side. You probably can’t find them in the stores, but they are turning up with great frequency in estate sales. Most have never been used. Before you buy one check to make sure the inside still has that shiny look and has not been destroyed by the wrong kind of cleaning products.
Process – Steps to a Great Cake
Use one cup boiling or very hot water poured over Medjool Dates to which you add 1 teaspoon baking soda. Set this aside and let soften.
(The recipe from “Martha Bakes” says to put one cup coffee over dates. We prefer the hot water.)
Mix the dry ingredients together –
2 teaspoon baking powder – 1 1/2 cup flour – 1/2 teaspoon salt
In an electric mixer –
beat together until light and fluffy – one stick butter and one cup sugar
To the butter and sugar add two eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition. Here again, some people use 4 eggs. We like the results that two eggs provide.
Add
date mixture, flour mixture, egg mixture and vanilla (if used)
Mix until moistened, but take care not to overmix.
Spread batter in a pan –
The pan can be either round or square
Before putting the batter into the pan, spread the pan with butter all over the insides of the pan. This keeps the cake from sticking to the pan.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 55 to 65 minutes.
When done, remove the cake from the oven; let it cool in the pan; using a toothpick or other similar gadget poke holes all over the cake.
Pour warm toffee sauce over cake and let it absorb for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Toffee Sauce
Combine in a medium saucepan –
preferably a Corning pot with the blue cornflowers on the side:
Two sticks butter – one cup heavy cream – one cup organic turbinado sugar – 1/4 teaspoon salt
Put over low heat –
stirring, until sugar has dissolved.
Let simmer over medium heat for about 8 to 12 minutes before pouring this mixture over the Toffee Pudding.
This is what gives it the name – Sticky Toffee Pudding.
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Tags: bed & breakfast, Bettina Cookbook, Bettina Homes, Bettina Network Hedge Schools
