Here are two very different desserts that you might enjoy over Christmas. The first one is a sticky toffee pudding with a ginger twist. It is a warm and comforting dessert. You could serve it with ice cream, sliced bananas and toasted pecan. My mother, Vera, used to call this “Butterscotch Bananza”. And the butterscotch sauce goes wonderfully with ice cream any time of the year.

The pecan tart is rich and the nuts give great texture and flavour. Again it is delicious with ice cream. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm, but not hot. This is a great recipe for children to learn so you might have an opportunity while they are on a break from school.

Happy cooking,

Neven

Recipes

Festive sticky gingerbread with butterscotch sauce

Serves six to eight

250g pitted dates, chopped

400ml boiling water

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

250g light brown sugar

150g butter, plus extra for greasing

3 large eggs

25g stem ginger in syrup, drained and finely chopped

1 tbsp ground ginger

350g self-raising flour

2 tbsp treacle

100g walnuts

For the butterscotch sauce:

175g light brown sugar

100g butter

250ml cream

3 tbsp golden syrup

1 tbsp treacle

½ tsp sea salt flakes

  • 1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark four). Put the dates in a bowl and pour over the boiling water, then stir in the bicarbonate of soda and soak for 10 minutes.
  • 2 Using an electric hand-held mixer, beat the sugar and butter in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Mix in the eggs one at a time. Add the stem ginger and ground ginger along with the flour, treacle and date mixture and beat until evenly combined. Finally fold in the walnuts.
  • 3 Transfer the cake batter into a buttered 1.5-litre ovenproof dish and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. If you think it’s becoming too brown close to the end of the cooking time, cover with foil. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes.
  • 4 Meanwhile, to make the butterscotch sauce, put the light brown sugar into a heavy-based pan with the butter, cream, golden syrup and treacle. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then allow to bubble for a couple of minutes, until you have achieved a smooth sauce. Stir in the salt.
  • 5 Pour some of the butterscotch sauce over the warm pudding and put the rest into a jug to serve alongside.

    • Pecan tart

    Serves six to eight

    For the pastry:

    250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

    125g butter, cold and cut into cubes

    2 medium egg yolks

    good pinch of salt

    1-2 tbsp ice-cold water

    For the filling:

    175g pecan nuts

    100g butter

    100g dark soft brown sugar

    150g golden syrup

    50g maple syrup

    1/4 tsp sea salt flakes

    2 tbsp whiskey

    seeds of ½ vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract

    3 medium eggs

    crème fraiche and redcurrants, to serve (optional)

  • 1 First make the pastry: put the flour in a food processor with the butter and blitz until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and salt and blitz again until it forms a ball. If the mixture still looks a bit dry then you can add the water, but you want a soft pastry that is not sticky. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 15 minutes to rest.
  • 2 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark four). Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use it to line a 10cm (4in) x 34cm (14in) loose-bottomed flan tin that is 2.5cm (1in) deep. Put back in the fridge for 15 minutes to rest.
  • 3 Meanwhile, put the pecans on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly toasted. Remove from the oven and set aside 100g of perfect whole ones, then roughly chop the remaining 75g to use in the filling.
  • 4 Fill the lined pastry case with parchment paper and baking beans or dried kidney beans and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes until the pastry looks set but not coloured. Remove the beans and parchment. Break one of the eggs (put the yolk to one side) and quickly brush the base with the unbeaten egg white to form a seal. Put back in to the oven for another five minutes until the base is firm and the pastry feels sandy to the touch.
  • 5 To make the filling, put the butter, sugar, golden syrup, maple syrup and salt in a pan over a medium to high heat. Just bring it to the boil and then turn down the heat and let it simmer for three to five minutes over a very low heat. Take off the heat and stir in the whiskey and vanilla and then leave it to cool a little.
  • 6 Add the eggs and reserved egg yolk one at a time, whisking well between each addition and then fold in the chopped pecans. Pour into the pastry case and then arrange the whole pecan nuts in three attractive rows – you’ll find you have about 18 in each one. Place the tart into the oven on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the mixture is set but still a little wobble to it. Leave to cool slightly, then cut into slices and serve warm on plates.