A 'healthier' date pudding

Hayleigh Smith
Jun 5, 2020
2 min read

Updated: May 21, 2022

Winter is the ultimate time for comfort food. Slow cooked stews with mash potato, lots of seasonal veg, delicious pasta dishes and warm sweet treats. Sticky date pudding was my inspiration for this recipe. It tastes like sticky date, however it is much more nourishing and is less energy dense than the traditional recipes. I created a sauce that tastes delicious with the pudding, but is different to the traditional sauce as it does not have the sticky texture. The sticky texture is made by caramelising lots of sugar so I opted for something a bit more nutritious. Pumpkin is used in the pudding to increase fibre and to keep it nice and moist. This cannot be tasted in the final product, so it is a sneaky way to get a bit of veg. The dish has been a hit with the whole family, perfect for an after dinner treat (I admit I have even had it for breakfast).

Justification for ingredient swaps:

Coconut flour- compared to white flour, coconut flour is higher in protein and fibre. It also soaks up more moisture than regular white flour so you do not have to use as much.
Coconut sugar- compared to white sugar, coconut sugar is lower in GI, less refined and has a richer, toffee like flavour.
Pumpkin- no real justification needed as its a vegetable! High in vitamin A and in season so is cheap as chips.
Blackstrap molasses- contains nutrients such as manganese, magnesium and iron and is extremely rich in flavour.

Ingredients

Serves 8

Pudding

2 cups pumpkin chopped

1/2 cup boiling water

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

1 cup medjool dates

50g butter, softened

1/3 cup coconut sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 tsp vanilla essence

Sauce

2 tbsp blackstrap molasses

1 cup light cream

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Line a round cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 165°C.

Pit and chop dates into chunks. Put in heatproof bowl with bicarbonate of soda and pour over the boiling water. Stir the dates and leave to marinate.

Chop pumpkin into cubes and add to medium saucepan. Pour in boiling water from the kettle and simmer for 10 minutes or until very soft. Drain pumpkin and leave a couple of tablespoons of water in the bottom of the saucepan. Using an electric hand mixer (most desirable as will be smooth) or a hand masher, puree the pumpkin until smooth and there is no lumps.

Using an electric beater, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and eggs, one by one, beating well after each incorporation. Add 1 cup of the pumpkin puree and beat until smooth. Pour in the dates and flour and mix using a wooden spoon.

Pour into the cake tin and cook for 55 mins.

Whilst the pudding is cooking, pour the cream, vanilla and molasses into a jug and mix until combined with a wooden spoon.

Cut the pudding into 8 slices and top with sauce and greek yoghurt if desired.

I like to keep the sauce in a glass jar in the fridge and the pudding in a seperate container. Just pop the sauce over the pudding and heat in the microwave for 1 minute so it is warm.

Enjoy :)