The BEST Sticky Date Pudding ever uwu

Yoooo guys!

[INSERT SELFIE WITHOUT HEAD]

Fee here, the brainchild behind Giaotornomy. A little background info about myself - I've been told I'm a pretty decent home cook, that I'm good with my hands (wink wink) and I'm an absolute sucker for good dessert. I'll be using this platform to share some pretty darn good recipes I've created... (or modified and tweaked) for you guys to try out and I'm excited to see where this goes! I'm sure some of you are here from my TikTok account but if you aren't, do give me a follow at @giaotornomy where I'll be posting frequent updates and visual guides on how to try out these mouthwatering recipes.

[INSERT PICTURE OF STICKY DATE PUDDING]

Without further ado, let me introduce you to my all-time favorite dessert... The Sticky Date Pudding!!! But with my own twist. I know what you're thinking, yuh there are SO many recipes of this on the internet. Which is absolutely true! But they're all pretty much the same and I added a few tweaks to elevate the classic, vanilla-ass recipe because I'm pretentious and extra like that.

[INSERT PICTURE OF MISO AND BUTTERSCOTCH]

For one, my recipe calls for the addition of Japanese Miso to the butterscotch to balance out the overwhelming sweetness in this dessert. Yeah I'm Malay but that doesn't mean that I am addicted to sweets (well... maybe, kind of). Why not just use salt, you might ask? Well, miso is salty, yes, as it's made from fermented soybeans, salt and other additives. But what makes it so different is the element of umami it adds to your butterscotch. You know what they say - don’t knock it till you try it! Oh, and I’ve always found that adding Five Spice or Chai powder to the batter gives it more flavour depth that you can give the ice cream a skip if you’re a little concerned about the overall sugar content.

[INSERT PICTURE OF MEDJOOL DATES]

And I must also emphasise on one thing: using Medjool dates instead of regular store-bought dates will undoubtedly make your dessert taste more legit. You can also substitute the date milk for regular milk or hot water but I like the subtle but more pronounced flavour profile it overall gives. It’s pretty ironic because everyone who knows me KNOWS that I’m a date-hater (they look like cockroaches I swear!) but I’m a Sticky Date Pudding connoisseur. What’s the logic in that, right?!

[INSERT PICTURE OF VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM]

As for the ice cream bit, cheap store-bought vanilla ice cream is fine if you’re serving unimportant guests or the masses but try going for authentic vanilla bean ice cream (or even Hokkaido milk) if you REALLY wanna impress someone… like, your lowkey abusive mother-in-law or a hot date. No pun intended. It makes a difference, trust me.

Okay that’s enough yapping from me, here’s how you make your own Sticky Date Pudding with Miso Butterscotch that’d no doubt impress who you wanna impress… date-hater or otherwise.

INGREDIENTS

Date Paste

300g Pitted Dates (preferably Medjool)

200ml Date Milk, boiling

1tsp Baking Soda

Cake

50g Brown Sugar

100g Unsalted Butter, softened

200g All-purpose Flour

1 1/2tsp Baking Powder

1tsp Five Spice Powder

Miso Butterscotch

200g Brown Sugar (preferably dark)

300ml Heavy Cream

50g Unsalted Butter

1tsp Vanilla Extract

XXg Miso Paste

Assembly

1 scoop Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Toasted Pecan Nuts (optional)

STEPS

• Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

• Line an 8” square cake pan with baking paper.

• Heat date milk in a pan until just boiling, then remove from heat. Add in the pitted dates and baking soda - giving it a good mix, then set aside for 5-10 minutes before mashing/throwing in a food processor.

Note: You still want it to look pasty and not so fine, so ease up on the timing if you’re using a processor (a couple of seconds should do the trick).

• In a separate bowl, add the brown sugar and butter. Beat it with a hand mixer until smooth and well-combined.

• Add the eggs, then continue beating until just incorporated.

• Add the date paste into the mixture and mix again until just incorporated.

• Finally, add in the flour, five-spice/masala and baking powder. By this step you should use a spatula to lightly hand-fold the mixture until it becomes a nice brown batter.

• Pour the batter into your lined cake pan and throw it in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean (a little mush is still alright but no sticky residue).

• While the cake is baking in the oven, add brown sugar, heavy cream, butter and vanilla extract into a saucepan over low-medium heat and stir until it comes to a light simmer.

• Remove from heat, and add the miso paste into the butterscotch according to your taste (I like mine more savoury to balance out the sweetness). Don’t forget to stir!

Note: Be careful, fresh butterscotch burns like lava so you might want to cool it a little before taste-testing. I learned it the hard way…

• Once the cake is removed from the oven, poke holes all over the top and pour the butterscotch over until it nicely blankets the surface. Leave to cool for 20-30 minutes.

• Cut it to serve (serves 8-10 pax) and for each individual serving, garnish with crushed toasted pecan nuts, a scoop of Vanilla Bean ice cream and a fresh mint leaf if you’re pretentious like me. Drizzle with more miso butterscotch and bon appetit!

And there you have it - if you have any questions feel free to ask me and I’ll try my best to clarify your concerns and doubts! But don’t get me wrong… I’m no Patissier nor am I professionally trained in the kitchen. I’m just a food enthusiast who happens to add wacky things to my recipes that (somehow) turned out great. My roommate often tries my failed concoctions and needless to say, he is absolutely terrified of my experimental creations. But hey, we’re all learning together right? :P

[INSERT PICTURE OF STICKY DATE PUDDING CROSS SECTION]

Thanks so much for making it this far. Do subscribe to me for more content like this as I strive to bring more unique and delicious recipes to you, from my experimental home kitchen. My loss, your gain! (I’m paying the most expensive home insurance in case my kitchen burns down from my weird shenanigans)

Peace out Giaotornomers xx