Sticky Toffee Pud

Hello ladies,
It's been ages since I've posted...haven't been making many sweets, what with my ever-expanding posterior...expansion, but I wanted to share this treat that I made for our very fab (and recently British-themed) Supper Club.

My brother-in-law in a sous chef in England and has worked at some great restaurants, including a Michelin rated place in Bath, where he learned this Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe from a very well-respected dessert chef.
It's fairly decadent and I don't even serve it with a little vial of clotted cream like he does...

It should be served warm, so that the top if all melty and gooey and the cake dissolves in your mouth in an amazingly buttery, toffee-tinged heap. I personally find the dessert rapturous and have to physically restrain myself from eating huge quantities. It has a weirdly addictive quality to it.

Here's a pic, with the recipe below:


Ingredients:
(Set oven to 350- and use only the upper/top rack for this cake)

2 eggs
1 1/2 + cup- self-rising flour (more than one and a half cups, but not quite one and two-thirds cup)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup butter (for sauce)
3/4 cup of dark brown sugar (for sauce)
small pinch of salt (for sauce)
1/3 cup of heavy cream (for sauce)

1 1/3 cup of pitted, rough chopped dates
2 cups water

Sauce/Topping:
Melt 1/2 cup of butter, the 3/4 cup of dark brown sugar, small pinch salt, heat on medium until all the sugar is dissolved and not grainy, then slowly add the heavy cream. Mix well and set aside, as it must be cooled down before pouring over baked pudding.

Cake/Pudding:
In another saucepan, put in the pitted dates and cook in the 2 cups of water, a dash of vanilla, simmering until dates are tender and reducing the liquid by half. Set aside to cool down a bit.

In a bowl, mix eggs, white and brown sugars, vanilla, and the rest of the butter together. Once mixed well, slowly add flour, baking soda, dry ingredients.
Slowly add dates and their fluid to the batter. It will get foamy if the water is still warm. Don't panic.

Pour into a well greased pan (or ramekins/muffin tins, etc).
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until top of cake is sponge-y firm and golden.

Pour sauce all over the cake as soon as the cake is out of the oven. Get it in everywhere, poke little holes throughout (you can use chopsticks), for maximum surface absorption.

Serve warm- or microwave each serving for 30 seconds.