On Thursday’s Morning Focus Alan Morrissey was joined by Paul Knapps, The Firefighting Chef, from Killaloe. This week Paul makes a vegan sticky toffee pudding.
Ingredients:
100g salted dairy-free plant butter, plus extra for lining the dish.
1tbsp ground flax seeds (this acts as our egg substitute)
150g dates, pitted and chopped.
(think chopping each date into 6 so kind of small but at the same time big!)
350ml plant milk (I’m using oat milk)
1tsp vanilla extract
125g light brown soft sugar
175g self-raising flour
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the sauce:
100g salted dairy-free plant butter
100g dark brown soft sugar
100ml oat/or plant cream
First off, we need to pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and butter the base and sides of a small baking dish/tin ours measured 20 x 15cm.
Combine the flax seeds with 3 tbsp warm water and set aside for at least 5 mins, this is our egg substitute and we need it to swell up.
In a pan, mix together the dates, oat milk, vanilla and plant butter. Warm over a medium heat until the butter has melted, this will soften our dates as well.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, flour and mixed spices in a bowl and make a well in the centre.
Once the butter has melted into the plant milk and date mix, remove from the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Pour the bubbly mixture into the flour well along with the soaked flax seeds and combine well until no flour pockets remain.
You could technically do all this in your pan if you have enough room, if you do then try it and see how it goes. Now, you can pour our pudding batter into the baking dish and bake in the oven for 30-35 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Once it does leave to cool slightly and lets make some sauce
To make the sauce:
Tip the butter and sugar into a pan and warm over a low heat. Once the butter has melted, turn up the heat and bring to a simmer to melt the sugar. Once the sugar is melted, pour in the oat or plant cream of choice and let it bubble for a further 5-10 mins until thick and glossy. Sticky and sweet and to finish Stir in a pinch of salt and set aside.
You can decide if you want to pour the sauce generously over the sponge either in the dish or at the table or even 50/50.
All you need to do now is cut into six slices to serve with cream/custard or in this case a vanilla bean plant-based ice cream, enjoy!
You can listen to the full interview below.
