This indulgent ginger and date pudding is made for those miserable winter evenings where you just want to curl up and watch a film with a bowl of something warm, comforting and nostalgic…

Ingredients:

• 225g butter
• 225g soft dark brown sugar
• 70g black treacle
• 165g golden syrup
• 200g pitted dates
• 200ml boiling water
• 100ml milk
• 350g plain flour
• 2tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2tbsp ground ginger
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 1tsp mixed spice
• 2 eggs
• For the sauce: 100g dark brown sugar, 75g butter, 50ml maple syrup, 50g golden syrup, 75ml double cream, pinch sea salt

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170c. Grease a pudding dish (or chosen vessel) with butter.
2. Roughly chop the dates and place in a small bowl, then pour over the boiling water. While the dates are soaking, melt the butter, sugar, treacle and syrup in a large saucepan. Once melted, add the soaked dates and water. Stir together.
3. Now gradually pour in the milk. Stir together until well combined. Set aside.
4. Sift the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon and mixed spice into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and break in the eggs. Briefly mix the eggs to break up then gradually add the melted ingredients from the saucepan. Stir together with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth, lump-free batter.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared dish and bake for 40-50 minutes (or until a skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs attached when inserted).
6. While the pudding is cooking, make the butterscotch sauce. To do this simply place the sugar, butter and syrups in a small saucepan and melt together until gently bubbling, then remove from the heat and stir in the cream and salt.
7. Serve the pudding warm with a generous helping of sauce and vanilla ice cream.