Sticky Date Puddings with Mandarin Ginger & Pecans

I’ve been making Sticky Date Puddings for years and decided it was time to give my recipe a new twist with a mandarin and caramel sauce, topped with glazed mandarins.  To give the puddings a really light, moist texture, I like to steam them in the oven, or you could use the stove top, if you have a dedicated steamer.

Ingredients

The puddings

• 180g pitted dates, I used fresh dates, but dried is fine
• 300ml mandarin juice ( orange could be substituted)
• 40g finely chopped crystalized ginger
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 60g soft butter
• 130g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 190g SR flour
• good pinch of Allspice
• 80g chopped pecans

Mandarin Caramel Sauce

• 125 butter
• 120g brown sugar
• 150ml orange juice
• 150ml cream
• dash of cointreau if you like
• good pinch sea salt flakes

Glazed Mandarin Peel

• Peel from 2 mandarins
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbs sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method

The Puddings

1. Heat the dates and mandarin juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the ginger, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the bicarbonate of soda. Stir well, and set aside to cool for about half an hour.
2. Grease the 10 x 125ml dariole moulds well with butter. I also add a small round of baking paper to the bottom to make unmoulding easier. Alternatively you could use a 1.5lt pudding basin.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C, and boil a kettle of water.
4. Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one-at-a-time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and Allspice and mix to just combine.
5. Now add the date mixture and the pecans.
6. Divide among the dariole moulds, filling to 3/4 full.
7. Cover the puddings loosely with buttered foil, but don’t tie down tightly, as these puddings will rise considerably.
8. Place in a steamer or a deep baking dish on a rack. Add the kettle of boiling water, to just come under the base of the moulds.
9. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted, comes out with moist crumbs attached.

The Glazed Peel

10. Remove the peel from the mandarins with a vegetable peeler and cut into very fine strips
11. Put the peel and water in a small saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes
12. Add the sugar an simmer for another 5 - 10 minutes
13. Add the vanilla essence
14. Cool and store in an airtight container

The Mandarin Caramel Sauce

15. Melt the butter with the sugar in a saucepan. Add the mandarin juice and bring to the boil, and add the cream. Boil for about 4 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Add a dash of Cointreau if you wish and then a pinch of sea salt flakes.

To serve

16. Warm the puddings and pour over the warmed sauce. Top with some of the glazed peel and vanilla bean icecream or cream.

Notes

The puddings and sauce can be made a day ahead and refrigerated. To reheat the puddings, place the unmoulded puddings in a circle around the edge of the Microwave turntable and and heat on MEDIUM until warm - about 3-4 minutes. Reheat the sauce on the stove