Merry Christmas! I hope you are all doing very, very well and, if you celebrate Christmas, I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas with company you enjoy. We have reached the day I've been counting down to on my blog and the very last day of my twelve days of Christmas. I had such a great time baking goodies and thinking up holiday themes that I'm going to try to do it again next year. 

For Christmas, I prepared one of my favorite imports, a cake I experienced in my time in England and just couldn't forget. I've made it three times for myself at home, and this is the second time I've made it around Christmastime, so I've decided to make a tradition of it!

I know it doesn't look like much. But trust me. It is amazing.

If you were to ask me what the greatest thing I ate in my year in England was, I'd skip past the fish & chips and mushy peas, past the refreshing ciders and even the amazing Sainsbury's scones ... right past the decadent desserts found in Harrod's cafeteria ... well, I'll cut to the chase. I'd tell you all about this amazing dessert called Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Pudding? You'd say, trying to hide your cynicism. Pudding, I'd say. But pudding is to the United Kingdom what cake is to the United States.

It's not much, actually. Not too difficult to make and consists mainly of dried dates, flour and sugar. It seems to me that the English and Irish (and probably Scottish and Welsh) really made the most of what they had. But in any case, this is definitely the best thing I ate in my year in England. And if you're ever in the Lake District of England (where Harry Styles and lady friend Taylor Swift were not so long ago), please try to stop by The Sun Inn in Hawkshead if you can. There, they serve the sticky toffee pudding with a healthy helping of ice cream.

Sticky Toffee Pudding, from the Udny Arms

Makes 9 to 12 squares of cake

Takes approximately an hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the cake:

A half cup of butter

2 cups of confectioners' sugar

2 eggs

3 cups of flour

8 ounces of dates (pitted and cut into pieces)

1 teaspoon of baking soda

2 cups of boiling water

For the sauce:

1 cup of butter

2 3/4 cups of brown sugar

Whipped cream or ice cream for topping

Recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9x13 inch pan.

Start out by pouring the boiling water over the chopped dates and baking soda in a bowl. 

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until it's fluffy. Beat in the eggs gradually and fold the flour in. 

Once the dates have absorbed all the water, add to the flour-egg-butter-sugar mixture and cream the mixture. Pour the mixture into your pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden.

To make the sauce, mix the butter and brown sugar and bring to a boil.

When the cake is done, remove from oven and poke holes (using the end of a wooden spoon) throughout the cake, about 2/3rds of the way deep. Pour half of the sauce over the cake and allow the sauce to absorb into the cake. 

Warm in the oven before serving, and spoon sauce over the cake to your liking (it is VERY buttery and quite sweet). Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Forget the figgy pudding and say hello to sticky pudding!