Sticky
Pud
walnut / medjool / toffee
#Story
Time
So I’ve been making Sticky Toffee Pudding for a long time. I think every chef knows a recipe of some sort, well I say that, but a lot of Chefs are garbage and have no clue about pastry. If they don’t have a recipe, they will definitely know how to microwave one! I won’t to start a rant about that just yet. This is one of the first recipes I ever made when I tried to venture into pastry. I loved it! I have made a few adaptions since then but still the same bones.
So I remember working in a Hotel, I was in charge of the larder and pastry section in the Brasserie. I think I was a Demi Chef de Partie, cant quite remember… I came in early to get ahead of all the dessert stuff - I only lived up the road so it wasn’t too bad! It was about 7am, everyone else started at 9 or 10 depending on what section and part of the hotel. Anyway! I was in the pastry section which was being run by a girl called Tammy, Aussie bird, fucking terrified me. Meticulously clean, bit of a hard ass, but also a very nice lovely girl. So I came in and started making my Sticky Toffee Puddings (bare in mind this was a 20KG batch) the butter was all creamed, the dates were blended, so I added them to the huge Hobart mixer we had. Closed the safety hatch and pressed on. I put the speed on full. FULL! For those of you who aren;t familiar with a Hobart Mixer - putting it on full is like a Tsunami! I was left a bit speechless, just standing and looking at the carnage I just produced. You don’t understand that this was a very very very clean pastry kitchen. The room and walls were white, the stainless steel and marble all polished.
I was just left standing there in my wee chef whites with a white apron dripping head to toe in this brown joabby mixture and the entire fucking kitchen coated in this shit. Dripping from every wall and ceiling. The KP is pissing himself, the breakfast chef is in stitches - I’m fucking petrified. I have not only managed to get nothing done for the section but I have completely destroyed the cleanest part of the hotel and everyone is due in in 45 minutes.
I managed to get the place clean but never managed to get changed into a new set of whites so after all of that I still got a beasting from the Head Chef for being a fucking state before I was even meant to start my shift. I really was a complete and utter melt when I worked in that hotel. They put up with a lot of shit from me: mistakes; nonsense; drunken antics; fuck ups; outbursts; hangovers; come-downs; fights; among other stuff!! They still kept me on board. Fuck knows why.
Cam
Junk’s Jam:
Serves 4 - 6
Hey!
So after talking to a good amount of people about their favourite desserts - this was at the top of the list for at least 80%. It’s a classic! We had some more obscure answers like Cafe Gourmand, Spotted Dick (Yeah Really), Jelly & Ice Cream and our personal favourite Mint Chocolate Club Bar (awful, Jade disagrees). Anyway, this is our version of the humble and classic British dessert. Hope y’all enjoy.
Equipment…
>Hand Blender
>Stand Mixer
w/ Paddle attachment
>Baking TIn
>Whisk
>ISI Gun
>2 Co2 Cartridges
The Recipe
Stage #1
>the PREP
Salted Caramel
75g Caster Sugar
25g Butter
50g Double Cream
6g Maldon Sea Salt
Place the Sugar into a pot and set over a high heat.
Make a dry caramel (let the Sugar dissolve without any water).
Add in the Salt & Butter - let it melt. Add in the Cream and boil for 1 minute.
Remove from the heat and strain.
Date Cake
435 Medjool Dates
40g Black Trecale
50g Salted Caramel
300g Water
12g Bicarbonate of Soda
345g Butter
345g Caster Sugar
8 Whole Eggs
435g Plain Flour
180g Marshmallows
Clingfilm
Greaseproof Paper
Place the Dates, Black Treacle, Salted Caramel & Bicarb into a bowl.
Bring the Water to a boil and pour over the Dates etc. Clingfilm the bowl and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Grab your Hand Blender and give the mixture a good blend - it does not have to be perfectly smooth but broken down is good enough.
A Stand Mixer would really be of benefit here! Put the Butter & Sugar into the bowl and start mixing with a Paddle Attachment. You really want to cream the Butter & Sugar mixture which will take a while and require a bit of patience - trust me it will be worth it! Continuously keep mixing and every couple of minutes scrape down the bowl and the paddle and then mix again. The Sugar should be fully incorporated into the butter mix.
Add in the blended date mixture and keep mixing. One by one add in the Eggs while the paddle is still going. Sift in the Flour and add the Marshmallows, gently folding everything though.
Pre-heat the oven to 160ºc.
Find your finest and largest Baking Tin. This makes more than you need but it does freeze well. Place some Greaseproof Paper on the base of your Tin and pour in the batter.
Place the cake into the centre of the oven and bake for about 40 minutes.
(Check after 35 just to be extra sure. You might have an incredible oven or a garbage one like we have, no idea! Using the old ‘knife in the centre of the cake’ method have a gander and see if it’s ready. If not keep cooking at 5 minute intervals until good to go.
Let the cake cool and portion into cubes, reserve some for the Crisps and keep the trimmings for fun.
Toffee Sauce
125g Caster Sugar
125g Butter
250g Double Cream
Place the Sugar into a pot and set over a high heat.
Make a dry caramel (Let the Sugar dissolve with out any water).
Add in the Butter - let it melt. Add in the Cream and boil for 1 minute.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Vanilla Anglaise
400g Double Cream
400g Whole Milk
8 Egg Yolks
200g Caster Sugar
1 Vanilla Pod
Place the Egg Yolks & Sugar into a bowl and whisk vigorously until pale and light.
Add the Milk, Cream & Vanilla to a pot and bring up to a gentle simmer.
While stirring, pour the Cream mix over the Egg Yolks until fully incorporated. Pour back into the pots and place on a low to medium heat.
Gently cook on a low heat, continually stirring! When ready the sauce should coat the back of a spoon. Decant into a tub and leave to cool until ready to use. You will require some of this for the ice cream!
Candied Walnuts
200g Caster Sugar
180g Water
100g Walnuts
Roast off the Walnuts at 175ºc for 15 minutes and cool.
Place the Water & Sugar into a pot and bring up to the boil.
Take the Sugar mixture up to 108ºC and add the Walnuts. Continue cooking until the Sugar reaches 113ºC.
Remove the Walnuts with a slotted spoon and deep fry at 180ºc to get that beautiful shiny shiny Walnut!
Leave to cool.
Crisps
1 Piece of Date Cake 6cm x 6cm
Very finely slice the Cake and place onto an oven tray.
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 180ºc, these should be nice and crispy - failing that bake for another 5 minutes.
Leave to cool until plating.
Caramel Ice Cream
150g Toffee Sauce
500g Vanilla Anglaise
Mix the Toffee Sauce through the Anglaise until fully incorporated.
Now you can either pour this into a ISI Gun and charge twice or you can use an Ice Cream Maker or better yet a Paco Jet.
The ISI Gun is the method I use because I’m a cheap-skate. All you’ve got to do is pour it, in charge it twice and then decant into a frozen tub. Jobs a good un’.
Stage #2
>Cook it baby!
Re-heat your Date Cake & Toffee Sauce when you’re ready to plate up!