Recipe: Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

It was so lovely to have an extra day off work, that I thought I would celebrate by making my most favourite dessert in the whole world, Sticky Date Pudding.

{now this recipe is for use with the tupperware tupperwave stack cooker - but I'm sure it can be adapted very easily for use with whatever you have in the cupboard}

Ingredients
300g pitted dates
1 tsp bicarb soda
3/4 cup boiling water
100g butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1 medium apple
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
icing sugar and thickened cream to serve

Butterscotch Sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
40g butter
200mls cream
1 tbs whisky {optional}

1. Use scissors to cut the dates into small pieces and place into a small bowl or jug.  Add the bicarb soda and boiling water, stir well.  Set aside to cool.

2. Place the butter and sugars into a bowl and cream using electric beaters until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time.
3. Peel the apple and coarsely grate.  Using a spatula fold the apple into the butter mixture along with the flour, dates and cinnamon.
4. Pour into the 2.25 litre stack cooker base and microwave uncovered on Med-High for 6-7 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, to make the sauce, place the sugar, butter, cream and whisky inot the 1.5 litre stack cooker, stir to combine, stack on top of the pudding and microwave uncovered on Med-High for 6 minutes.

6. Remove the pudding from the microwave, cover and stand for 5 minutes  Return only the sauce to the microwave and cook uncovered on High for another 3 minutes 
7. To Serve: Dust the pudding with icing sugar.  Place a large scoop of pudding in a serving dish, drizzle with sauce and add a large dollop of cream.