Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Grease four individual 200 ml pudding moulds or ramekins and line the bases with small discs of baking parchment.

Place the pitted dates in a heatproof bowl, pour over the boiling water, and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Leave to soak for 15 minutes until completely softened.

Transfer the entire contents of the bowl to a blender and blitz to a completely smooth purée.

In a large bowl, whisk together the plain flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and ground ginger. In a separate jug, whisk together the brown sugar, neutral oil, blackstrap molasses, vanilla extract, oat milk, and the warm date purée until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold gently with a spatula until just combined — do not overmix or the sponge will toughen.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared moulds and place them on a baking tray. Bake for 30–35 minutes until the tops are set and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

While the puddings bake, make the toffee sauce: combine the brown sugar, coconut cream, vegan butter, and blackstrap molasses in a small saucepan over a medium heat, stirring until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.

Bring the sauce to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 4 minutes without stirring, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt and vanilla extract.

Remove the puddings from the oven and leave in their moulds for 5 minutes. Run a palette knife around each edge, invert onto serving plates, and peel away the parchment. Spoon a generous amount of warm toffee sauce over each pudding and serve immediately.