Name: Put the slow cooker on for dessert – you can make sticky date pudding in it
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 110 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour; 3 teaspoons ground ginger; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 1/3 cups brown sugar; 1 3/4 cups pitted dried dates, roughly chopped; 3/4 cup milk; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; 75g butter, melted, cooled; Whipped cream, toasted flaked almonds, caramel sauce, to serve; Sauce; 2 1/2 cups boiling water; 1 cup brown sugar; 40g butter, chopped

Sticky date pudding is the ultimate dessert. With this new recipe, you don’t have to do the usual labour that sticky date pudding usually requires. Instead, this dessert is made in the slow cooker and is completely self-saucing. That means you don’t have to make a separate toffee sauce; the slow cooker will do it for you!

Throw all your ingredients in, and let the appliance work its magic. Put this on as you’re serving dinner, and it’ll be ready by the time you’ve settled in for a movie.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups self-raising flour

3 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/3 cups brown sugar

1 3/4 cups pitted dried dates, roughly chopped

3/4 cup milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

75g butter, melted, cooled

Whipped cream, toasted flaked almonds, caramel sauce, to serve

Sauce

2 1/2 cups boiling water

1 cup brown sugar

40g butter, chopped

Method

Step 1

Grease the bowl of a 5.5-litre slow cooker.

Step 2

Combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, brown sugar and dates in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle. Add milk, eggs and butter. Stir until well combined. Pour mixture into prepared bowl, spreading to level.

Step 3

For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a large jug. Carefully pour mixture over the back of a large metal spoon onto the batter. Place a clean tea towel over the top of the slow cooker before covering with a lid. Cook on HIGH for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Step 4

Remove lid and tea towel. Cook, uncovered, for a further 15–20 minutes or until the pudding is just cooked through and the sauce is bubbling.

Step 5

Serve pudding immediately, topped with whipped cream, almonds and caramel sauce.

slow cooker sticky date pudding close up of bowl with cream on top — (Photography: Jeremy Simons, Styling: Michele Cranston)

Senior food editor Sarah Murphy Senior food editor

Sarah Murphy is a Senior Food Editor who has worked across leading Australian food magazines since 2010. She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Advertising and Public Relations) and has contributed to magazines including delicious., The Australian Women’s Weekly Food, Super Food Ideas and Woman’s Day. Sarah has also worked across multiple cookbooks for delicious. magazine and The Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbooks. Currently, Sarah is the Senior Food Editor for Better Homes and Gardens Magazine and oversees all food content, creating and developing achievable recipes for readers that still excite and impress.

Recipe Developer Kim Coverdale Recipe Developer

Kim Coverdale is a recipe developer and food writer with more than 25 years of experience in Australian food publishing. Trained at the Australian Women's Weekly Test Kitchen — one of Australia's most trusted homes of recipe development — Kim has spent her career creating, testing, and perfecting recipes for some of the country's leading food titles. Every recipe she develops is rigorously tested to ensure it works reliably in home kitchens, not just professional ones.

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