Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ingredients

• 1 cup cake flour for flouring pan
• 1.3 cups t brown sugar dark packed
• 5 oz dates pitted finely chopped
• 1 large eggs 
• 1 cup butter unsalted softened for greasing pan

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• sauce pan
• oven
• knife
• hand mixer
• cake form
• skewers
• chopsticks

Directions

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8- by 2-inch round cake pan.
2. Simmer dates in 1 cup water in a 1-quart heavy saucepan, covered, until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Let stand, covered, off heat 5 minutes.
4. Beat together 1 stick butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in egg until combined.
5. Add flour and 1/8 teaspoon salt and mix at low speed until just combined.
6. Add dates and mix until just combined well.
7. Pour batter into pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, melt remaining stick butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat and stir in remaining cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup water, and a pinch of salt. Boil over moderately high heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and sauce is reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, 2 to 8 minutes.
9. Remove from heat and cover.
10. Transfer pudding in pan to a rack and poke all over at 1-inch intervals with a chopstick. Gradually pour half of warm sauce evenly over hot pudding.
11. Let stand until almost all of sauce is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
12. Run a thin knife around edge of pan. Invert a plate over pudding and invert pudding onto plate.
13. Pour remaining warm sauce over pudding and serve immediately.
14. Pudding, soaked with half of sauce, can stand at room temperature up to 2 hours. Reheat in pan in a 300°F oven 10 minutes. Warm remaining sauce before pouring over pudding.