Sticky

Every now and then, I stun myself with my talents. Even less frequently, I stun those around me. One such instance was not too long ago, when Justin decided to cook dinner for some of his and my friends while I was housesitting for my parents. I generously agreed to prepare dessert. I had bought some dates on a recent food buying spree, primarily on impulse (and since dates are delicious), but also with a hidden agenda. As every good South African knows, the best dessert to come out of the third world contains dates. Cape Brandy Pudding is truly a delight - albeit less of a rare treat now that one can purchase it in frozen form from one's local Whole Foods (note: this is not a plug for Whole Foods). But I digress. I ended up rounding off the culinarily thrilling evening with a delicious Toffee Cake. I spontaneously replicated this cake recently for my parental units, being that they are huge proponents of anything with the words "toffee" and "dentist" in the title. I really followed the recipe too:

Toffee Cake
From the Big Book of Baking

- 1 cup chopped dates (as luck would have it, my weird parents happened to have some dates lying around!)
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter (it's a cake, use unsalted)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla (I even measured the vanilla this time!)
- 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (do they even sell that in this country? Oy vey. Good thing I have an iPhone now!)

Toffee Sauce Part
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp butter (also unsalted)
- 2 tbsp milk (can use cream)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 or so cake pan. Maybe 9x9.

Mix the dates, water and b.s. in a small saucepan. Heat gently for a few minutes without boiling (it will erupt) until dates are soft and separate from each other. Remove from heat. Use your Kitchenaid to cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Pour in the date mixture and continue mixing with mixer. Gently beat in the flour just until combined. You will probably have to do a few mixes by hand with a spatula for full mixation (this is one flaw of the almost flawless kitchenaid. Such is life).

Pour the batter into greased pan. Instagram a photo of your kitchenaid (optional).

Bake  for about 30-40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, work on the topping. Place the butter, brown sugar and milk/cream in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture resembles a toffee glaze (about 5 minutes).

Once the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes all over the top. I recommend using a toothpick rather than a fork as fork holes tend to be very obvious and not so lovely looking, while toothpick holes are less visible. Pour the toffee mixture over the top of the cake. Let it cool somewhat, then unleash your family/friends upon it.