From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Ingredients:

Cake

• 2 oz. soft, room temperature butter or butter substitute
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• ½ cup Oonagh’s Gluten-Free Flour Mix
• ¼ cup almond meal/almond flour (If you can’t have nuts, just use the flour mix)
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• Slightly rounded ½ cup pitted chopped dates.
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 3/8 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• Pinch of salt

Sauce

• ½ stick butter
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup cream
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans or other nuts (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. rum or other alcohol you can tolerate (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put dates in heat proof bowl and pour boiling water over them. Add vanilla extract and baking soda.

2. Cream butter and sugar together until fairly light, creamy and fluffy.

3. Slowly beat in egg, then beat mixture well.

4. Combine gluten-free flour mix, almond meal, salt and baking powder and carefully fold into butter mix. Don’t over mix; it will still look dry and floury.

5. Gently fold date and liquid into mix. It will now look sloppy and lumpy, not like a normal cake batter. Don’t worry.

6. Grease 6 ramekins or custard cups (6 oz. each), then use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to divide batter up among the ramekins.

7. Place ramekins on baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes. They will look light and fluffy, but might sink in the middle. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

8. While cakes are cooking, prepare the sauce. Melt butter, then stir in brown sugar, cream and nuts. Simmer until sugar is melted and sauce starts bubbling and looking toffeeish. Only a few minutes. Add rum and simmer for 1 minute.

9. Turn cakes out onto plates and cover with sauce. If you leave them to absorb the sauce for ½ hour, they are even better. Then you just pop them back into oven or microwave to make them warm from the oven again.

Tips and Alternatives:

Do not attempt to use 4 ramekins and overfill them with batter. The cakes will spill over as they cook.

The cakes freeze well and can last in the fridge for a few days.