Healthy sticky toffee pudding

It feels good to eat! I've spent a few years now honing my recipes into something wholesome mainly because sugar makes my mouth go furry, gluten gives me wombat guts and solid fat greases up my skin. I bet you feel hungry now...

Here's a sticky toffee pudding recipe made with olive oil and without any cream - unfortunately a toffee sauce is not very good without butter and sugar, but I figure a tablespoon on your cake is ok.

This recipe assumes you know how to cook.

Ingredients

For the cake (makes about 10 portions)

200g of dates

150g sultanas/raisins

250g self raising flour (gluten free)

A couple of tablespoons of dark brown sugar (mainly for the colour)

A tablespoon of golden syrup

A bit of vanilla essence

3fl oz extra virgin olive oil

8fl oz milk

1 egg

For the no cream toffee sauce

100g of brown sugar

100g of butter

100ml milk

Method

1. Soak the fruit in boiling water

1a. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees c, and fill a 8 inch square tin with baking parchment 

2. Make the cake. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl including the soaked fruit. Mix the oil and milk together and add to the dry stuff. Throw in an egg. Mix into a batter. Put in the baking tin and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

3. If it looks pale, turn the heat up to around 200 and make it go brown.

4. Remove and allow to rest for 20 minutes or so.

5. Make the sauce. Gently melt the butter. Add the sugar. Turn up the heat to dissolve the sugar. Add the milk. Bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and allow it to foam for a bit, then check to make sure it tastes like toffee.