By Julie White

Absolutely delicious dessert to serve for any special occasion. I made it for a group of my friends and I hardly needed to wash the plates, they were so clean.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 cup of soft butter
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1 large beaten egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup pitted and chopped dates
• 1 1/4 cups boiling water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Toffee sauce ingredients:

• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup brown sugar
• Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving if you wish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch square pan or baking dish. Place the dates in a bowl and add the boiling water and baking soda — let rest.

Combine the butter and sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and cinnamon. Gradually add the flour and baking powder. Add the date mixture and mix well. Pour into the baking dish. Bake until firm, about 35 minutes.

To prepare the sauce, combine all sauce ingredients in pan and cook over medium heat till thick, about 6 minutes. Spoon a few spoonfuls over warm cake. Serve warm with sauce spooned over. You can serve with sauce alone or with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.

“Count your joys instead of your woes; Count your friends instead of your foes!” — old Irish saying.