Created by ImPat on October 5, 2018
Step 1: Grease a 9 cup pudding bowl and sine base with a round of baking paper.
Step 2: Place dates and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl.
Step 3: Bring whisky and 2/3 cup water to the boil in a small pan over high heat and then pour mixture over dates and stir and stand for 20 minutes until softened.
Step 4: Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl with electric beaters until pale and creamy and then add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
Step 5: Sift flour together ver butter mixture and gently stir until combined and then stir in cooled date mixture and then pour mixture into pudding bowl and cover with baking paper and foil, tying firmly with kitchen string.
Step 6: Stand on a trivet or upturned saucer in a large saucepan and pour enough water into saucepan until it comes halfway up the sides of the pudding bowl.
Step 7: Bring to the boil over high heat and then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until pudding is cooked through when tested with a skewer.
Step 8: Stand for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter.
Step 9: Meanwhile, for the salted toffee sauce, place sugar, cream, vanilla, butter and salt into a saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar and butter have melted and mixture comes to the boil.
Step 10: Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens.
Step 11: Serve pudding with salted toffee sauce.