250mlAlmond milk or plant milkshop-bought or home-made
300gMedjool datesstoned
80gCoconut sugar
125mlCoconut oil
1tsoBicarbonate of soda
95gGluten-free flour mix
1Vanilla podseeds scraped
ttspGround cinnamon
½ tspGround cardamom
½ tspGround clove
Pink Himalayan salta pinch
For the sticky toffee sauce
140gCoconut sugar
250mlCoconut milk
½tspSalt
For the vanilla custard
2tbspVery fine cornflour, such as Maizena
500mlCoconut milkpreferably from a Tetra Pak that is consistently creamy and doesn’t separate
3tbspMaple syrup
1Whole vanilla podscraped
Make your own Gluten-free flour mix
210gBrown rice flour
140gBuckwheat flour
70gWhite rice flour
40gOat flour
40gPotato starch/flour
40gTapioca flour
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 190C (375F/Gas 5). Line a 20cm square cake tin with greaseproof paper or use a good-quality silicone mould.
Start with the pudding. In a small saucepan gently heat the milk and dates for 5–10 minutes until the dates have softened. Once softened, set aside.
In a blender, blitz the coconut sugar and coconut oil until the sugar has mostly disintegrated.
Add the bicarbonate of soda to the milk and date mix – it will start to fizz and bubble, but that is okay.
In a bowl, combine the flour, vanilla, spices, pinch of salt, coconut oil and sugar mix along with the dates and milk mixture and give everything a good stir.
Pour into the cake tin and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
While the pudding is cooking, make the sauce. Heat a pan over medium heat, add the coconut sugar and coconut milk and let it heat through.
Add the salt and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let it simmer for 20 minutes until the caramel has thickened. Stir it occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn. A great way of knowing if it’s ready is to see if it sticks to the back of your spoon.
Stir in a little more salt if desired and either use it straightaway or let it cool down before storing in a glass jar – it will become even thicker as it cools.
Once the cake is done, transfer to a wire rack to cool and enjoy with a home-made custard and a drizzle of sticky toffee sauce.
Tip: The cake, custard and toffee sauce all last for a long time in the fridge – well, that is, if you can keep your hands off them! – or freezer.
To make the vanilla custard
Blend the cornflour with a little bit of of the coconut milk in a medium pan over a medium heat, whisking until you have an even consistency. Then add the rest of the ingredients including the scraped vanilla pod – there is still a lot of goodness there – whisking until the cornflour and vanilla are fully incorporated into the coconut milk.
Whisk until the custard starts to thicken and then, as soon as the mixture begins to boil, take it off the heat and let it cool.
To prepare the gluten-free flour mix
Mix all the flours together and store in an airtight container.