Recipe: Sticky Toffee Date Cake with Bourbon Glaze

STICKY TOFFEE DATE CAKE WITH BOURBON GLAZE

"My friend Laura Donnelly has been the pastry chef at several wonderful restaurants in East Hampton and she also writes about food for the The East Hampton Star. When she's in the kitchen, Sticky Toffee Date Cake is always on the menu. It's a moist cake made with cooked dates and then soaked with a caramel sauce. I added good bourbon to her glaze."


FOR THE CAKE:
3/4 pound dates, pitted and chopped
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup white granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

FOR THE BOURBON GLAZE:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons good bourbon, such as Maker's Mark
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Sweetened whipped cream, for serving (recipe follows)

TO MAKE THE CAKE:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9x2-inch round cake pan.

Place the dates in a deep saucepan with 1 3/4 cups of water. Bring to boil, stirring a little to break up the dates. Allow to simmer for 1 minute. Off the heat, stir in the baking soda (it will bubble up!). Set aside.

Meanwhile, in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter and granulated sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.

With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and then the 1 teaspoon vanilla, scraping down the bowl. (The mixture may look curdled.) Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer still on low, slowly add it to the batter. With the mixer on low, add the hot date mixture in two batches to the batter, scraping down the bowl. The batter will be runny but don't worry!

Stir in the baking powder, which will also bubble up. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile, to make the glaze, combine the 12 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, 1/2 cup heavy cream, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 minute. Off the heat, stir in the bourbon and 2 teaspoon vanilla and pour into a 2-cup heat-proof glass measuring cup. Set aside.

As soon as the cake is done, poke holes all over it with a toothpick. Pour three-quarters of the sauce evenly over the cake while still warm and allow it to soak in for 30 minutes. Turn the cake out bottom side up onto a flat serving plate and pour the remaining sauce on top. Cool completely.

Serve at room temperature with Sweetened Whipped Cream.

SWEETENED WHIPPED CREAM

1 cup cold heavy (whipping) cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Beat all the ingredients together in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until it makes soft peaks.

Makes 1 (9-inch, single-layer) cake
Source: Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust by Ina Garten