Sticky love

If love came in a foil baking pan, it might be called Sticky Date Pudding. I took one home after having lunch with Eleanor and Toby at Bakesale Betty (happily enough, my second time there in less than a week) and shared it with Jon and Shari as we watched a dreadfully boring movie that put us all to sleep on the couch.

After following the warming instructions and having the house smell sweetly of baked treats, we sliced it up, spooned caramel sauce over the top, scooped up vanilla ice cream to go on the side, and dug in. The first bite was incredible. The pudding, which wasn’t like pudding at all but really a cake, was moist, not too sweet, with a hint of autumn spices. The caramel sauce was a great sidekick, adding a touch of extra sweetness and richness to the cake. (The sauce is fabulous just on its own too—probably the best caramel sauce I’ve ever tasted.) And the ice cream’s cold and smooth texture balanced out the warm density of the cake.

If only true love could be so sweet and easy to purchase.