Easy Chocolate Sticky Date Pudding with Killinchy Gold Pure Vanilla Ice Cream

Recipe submitted by Killinchy Gold Facebook promotion winner Angela McCann

Ingredients:

• 250g pitted dried dates
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 125g butter, chopped
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 100g dark chocolate (I used Whittaker's Dark Ghana), finely chopped

Butterscotch sauce:

• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup cream
• 75g butter, chopped
• 1 tablespoon whisky (optional)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced
• Grease a 20cm round cake tin
• Line base and side with baking paper
• Combine dates and 1 1/4 cups cold water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil over a medium heat
• Remove from heat. Stir in bicarbonate of soda
• Stand for 15 minutes
• Process date mixture until almost smooth
• Place butter and sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy
• Beat in eggs, one at a time
• Stir in flour, chocolate and date mixture
• Spread mixture into prepared pan
• Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean
• Meanwhile, make Butterscotch sauce: Combine sugar, cream and butter in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Increase heat to medium-high. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 4 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in whisky (if using).
• Serve cake with sauce and a big dollop of Killinchy Gold Pure Vanilla ice cream