Switch your slow cooker onto High and put the lid on it empty.
Place 120 grams of dates in a saucepan with 150 mls of water and bring to a gentle simmer. Set to one side.
To make the date sponge then begin by beating 45 grams butter and 120 grams light brown soft sugar together in a large mixing bowl for a couple of minutes with an electric whisk or free standing mixer. It will look like sandy rubble.
Add the egg, 1 tbsp of black treacle, 1 tbsp of syrup and ½ tsp of vanilla extract and beat again for a couple of minutes. It will look a bit curdled. Ignore it.
Add the 150 grams flour and mix well.
Whizz the dates and water in a food processor until pureed. Add the bicarbonate of soda and whizz again. It will bubble up and turn paler in colour. Add to the sponge batter in the bowl.
Beat the puree into the sponge batter for about a minute until it's all mixed well together.
Carefully spoon the batter on top of the toffee sauce in the pot. I use a big serving spoon to do it. You want to try to keep the toffee sauce on the bottom and not let it come up into the batter itself as you spoon it on top. But it's not the end of the world Susan.
To steam this in a saucepan, steam for 2 hrs 30 minutes.
If using your slow cooker then put the lid on and place in your slow cooker. I don't bother to put anything underneath it to stop the bottom burning.
Fill the slow cooker bowl with your just boiled water up to just over half way up your pudding pot. Too much and it will float then rise unevenly.
Cook on high for 3 ½ hours. Carefully remove from the bowl and set down. Remove the lid and carefully invert the pot onto a plate and then slide the pot up leaving the sponge behind on the plate.
Heat your toffee sauce back up and pour a little on top to serve. Serve extra sauce to pour on top of individual wedges.
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