| 1 | Preheat oven to 350°F f. |
| 2 | You will need eight 6 oz metal pudding basins or eight 3 inch ramekin dishes, lightly oiled with vegetable oil. |
| 3 | A swiss roll tin and a baking sheet. |
| 4 | begin by putting the chopped dates in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them. |
| 5 | Then add vanilla, coffee essence and baking soda. |
| 6 | Put to one side. |
| 7 | Next in a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar together, beating (preferrably with an electric hand whisk) until mixture is pale, light and fluffy. |
| 8 | Now gradually add beaten eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition. |
| 9 | After that, carefully and lightly fold in the sifted flour using a metal spoon, then fold in date mixture including liquid. |
| 10 | The mixture will look sloppy, but don"t worry. |
| 11 | That is perfectly correct and the slackness of the mixture is what makes the pudding so light. |
| 12 | Now divide the mixture equally between the eight containers. |
| 13 | Place them on a baking tray and bake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes. |
| 14 | using a palette knife, slide it around each pudding and turn it out. |
| 15 | If they have risen too high, you may have to cut a slice of the top so that they can sit evenly on the plate. |
| 16 | Now place the puddings on a shallow, swiss roll type pan. |
| 17 | next, make the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a saucepan and heating very gently until sugar has melted and all the crystals dissolved. |
| 18 | to serve puddings: pre-heat broiler to its highest setting, and pour the sauce evenly over the puddings. |
| 19 | Place the pan under the broiler so the tops are about 5 inches from the heat. |
| 20 | Knock off any nuts on top to prevent them browning. |
| 21 | Let the puddings heat through for 8 minutes. |
| 22 | The tops will become brown and slightly crunchy and the sauce will be hot and bubbling. |
| 23 | Serve with chilled pouring cream. |
| 24 | note: after freezing, defrost, pour hot sauce over and reheat. |
| 25 | from delia smith"s christmas 1990 published by bbc books |
