Date and Ginger Sticky Toffee pudding (vegan)

This recipe wowed guests at our recent Persian pop-up feast, prepared by guest chef Zoe Marks. You can find out more about Zoe’s catering services, monthly night at the Bonnington Café and pop-ups by visiting here Facebook page, Zoe’s Vegetarian Feasts . Date and Ginger Sticky Toffee pudding (vegan) Author: Zoe Marks Ingredients PUDDING INGREDIENTS: 250 ml unsweetened soya milk (or any other non-dairy milk such as almond or oat) 200 g chopped dates, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 120 g vegan margarine, 120 g soft brown sugar, 200 g white self-raising flour (or for gluten free option replace with gluten free self-raising flour, but you will need approximately 30ml more milk because it will be drier) 1 tsp ground ginger ½ to 1 piece of chopped stemmed ginger (depending on how gingery you like it) SAUCE INGREDIENTS: 4 tablespoons of date syrup (maple and golden syrup work just as well or if you want extra ginger you can use the syrup from the jar of stemmed ginger. My preference is the date syrup!) 150g soft brown sugar 100g vegan margarine 70 ml soya cream Instructions Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. Grease a 10 inch cake tin (exact size doesn’t matter, but obviously the smaller the tin the deeper the cake will be) or cup cake tray (mixture makes approximately 12 cup cakes). Put the dates and soya milk in a medium saucepan and simmer for approximately 5 minutes until the dates are soft. Turn off the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda – the mixture should fizz and bubble. Next cream the margarine and sugar in a large bowl or food processor and stir in the remaining pudding ingredients. Then mix this into the date mixture (once cool enough). Pour the mixture into the cake tin/cup cake tray and bake for between 20 to 30 minutes (cup cakes will take less time). Test to see if the cake is ready by putting a knife into the sponge. If the knife comes out clean this means it’s ready. To make the sauce: melt the sugar, butter and syrup in a small pan. Stir until melted and simmer for a few minutes. Allow to cool slightly. Stir in cream. Pour warm sauce over the puddings. The cake will keep for approximately 5 days in a tin and the sauce will also keep for a few days in the fridge. 3.2.2885