• First, brown the butter for the dates sponge. To do this, chop the butter into evenly sized pieces then place into a medium saucepan. Place over a medium heat & allow to melt, stirring regularly with a spatula. Keep cooking, until the butter starts to foam, smells nutty & you can see that the milk solids in the bottom of the pan have turned golden brown. Once cooked, transfer the butter to a bowl & leave to cool slightly.

Date Puree

• Whilst the brown butter is cooling, make the date puree. To do this, roughly chop the dates then add into a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda & boiling water (from the kettle!). Stir to combine then leave to soak for 30 minutes.
• Once soaked, use a stick blender to blend the dates & water into a smooth puree. You'll need the date puree for the sponge.

Brown Butter Date Sponge

• Whilst the dates are soaking, preheat an oven to 170°c/150°c fan (338°f/302°f). You'll also need to grease & line a 9"x13" baking tin with baking parchment.
• Next, place the brown butter & date puree into a large mixing bowl then add in the brown sugar & treacle then whisk by hand, to combine.
• Add the sour cream & eggs into the dates then whisk again, to incorporate.
• Sift the plain flour, baking powder, cinnamon & ginger into the batter then add in the salt. Whisk gently, until the flour is just incorporated.

  Give the sides of the bowl a quick scrape down with a spatula, to make sure all of the flour has been incorporated!
• Once mixed, immediately pour the batter into the lined tin then bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes - 1 hour, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

  The bicarb will start to react as soon as the batter is mixed, so make sure to get it in the oven as quickly as possible!
• Once cooked, let the sponge cool completely in the tin before cutting into portions. Or store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Brown Butter Toffee Sauce

• Chop up the butter, add into a large saucepan then cook over a medium heat, until browned.

  Cook the butter the same way as you did for the sponge.
• Once the butter is cooked, take the pan off the heat & add in the cream, sugar, & golden syrup. Set the pan over a low heat then cook, whisking regularly until the sugar has dissolved. This will only take a couple of minutes.

  Whisking the sauce helps incorporate the brown butter properly.
• Next, turn the heat up to medium-high, bring the sauce to the boil, cook for another 2 minutes then take off the heat.
• To finish, stir the vanilla & salt into the sauce.

  The toffee sauce can be served immediately or left to cool then stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To Reheat - In A Microwave

• Place a portion of sponge into a bowl, top with a generous amount of the toffee sauce then microwave on high for 30 seconds – 1 minute, until hot. Serve with a scoop of ice cream!

To Reheat - In An Oven

• Preheat an oven to 160°c/140°c fan (320°f/284°f).
• Place portions of sponge into a heatproof dish then add a spoonful of toffee sauce on top of each.
• Cover the dish with foil & bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until piping hot.
• Whilst the sponge is being reheated, warm some extra toffee sauce up (either in a pan on the stove, or in a jug in a microwave).
• To serve, place the portions of sponge onto plates then pour over some extra sauce. Serve with scoops of ice cream.