Date and Toffee Pudding (serves 6)

One of the Two Fat Ladies, Clarissa Dickson Wright, was a big fan of puddings and once said that she had never met a man who said 'no' to a pudding. If it's this particular pudding then I wouldn't say no either. The calorie count must be pretty high but it is delicious.

Ingredients

175g dates (chopped)

125g maragarine

150g demerara sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 egg

125g self-raising flour

125g wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

For the toffee sauce

75g margarine

150g soft brown sugar

2 tbsps whipped cream

Method

1. Pour 1/2 pint of water over the dates and leave to stand for about an hour.

2. Cream together the margarine and sugar, then add the egg and vanilla and beat well.

3. Add the two flours and the baking powder. This will make a rather stiff mixture.

4. Add the dates and water and mix well. It now looks like a thin batter.

5. Pour into a greased dish and bake at 180C for 45 minutes.

6. Make the sauce by melting the margarine with the sugar. Add the whipped cream, stir well and do not boil. Pour the sauce over the pudding and return to the oven for 15 minutes.