Sticky Toffee Pudding

Well, last year I made some figgy pudding for Christmas, so this year I wanted to try a different Christmas pudding recipe. I was thinking of plum pudding, but I couldn't find any canned plums, plus I came across this recipe for sticky toffee pudding published in the newspaper the other day. 

Sticky Toffee Pudding
250 grams (approximately one cup) pitted dates, chopped
1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 Tablespoons molasses
2 Tablespoons corn syrup
1 2/3 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease or line muffin cups with paper liners.
In a small saucepan, bring the dates and water to a boil, cook on high until thickened while preparing the rest of the batter.
In a large bowl ,cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs. Stir in the molasses and corn syrup. Stir in the flour and baking powder, mix well.
Using a handheld immersion blender, puree the date mixture until smooth. Stir in the baking soda. Add to batter, mix well. Divide among muffin cups, do not overfill. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not over bake. Serve warm or reheated with rum toffee sauce (see tomorrow's post).