Q: I visited the Three Blind Mice restaurant in Lilburn which was reviewed in the AJC. I had a delicious dessert called Sticky Toffee Pudding. I would like to have the recipe for that and the rich and tasty sauce served on it. Thank you. — Ethel Bay, Tucker
A: Chef Matthew Murphy sent us this recipe, which has been on the menu at Three Blind Mice since April 2010 when the restaurant opened. "It would cause a riot if we took it off, " Murphy wrote.
He noted that the recipe is English and has become an American gastro-pub dessert popular since the 1980s. The dish receives no garnish except the rich sauce. “Fresh dates, fresh baking powder, good quality vanilla extract (are essential). And don’t be shy about using too little of the sauce, it is meant to be an indulgence, ” he said.
Three Blind Mice’s Sticky Toffee Pudding
1 1/4 cup hot water
3/4 cup Medjool dates, pitted and diced
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed, divided
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Line bottom with a lightly greased parchment round.
In a 2-cup measuring cup, stir together hot water, dates and baking soda. Allow to cool while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup butter, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer. By hand, stir in dry ingredients and dates with their soaking liquid. This batter will be looser than traditional cake batter.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 25 minutes or until a tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
While cake is baking, prepare sauce. In a medium saucepan, combine cream with remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter. Heat over medium until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Keep warm.
Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Turn cake out onto wire rack, remove parchment round and turn cake layer right side up on serving platter. When ready to serve, cut into 8 wedges. Arrange each wedge in a bowl and divide sauce between servings. Serve immediately. Serves: 8
Per serving: 403 calories (51 percent from fat), 3 grams protein, 47 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 24 grams fat (14 grams saturated), 93 milligrams cholesterol, 245 milligrams sodium.
