• Preheat the oven to 180°C | 160°C Fan | 350°F | Gas 4 and grease your 4 mini pudding bowls or 1pt pudding basin.
• In a large jug add your dates and pour over the boiled water, leave to soak whilst setting to work on your toffee sauce.

To make the toffee sauce

• In a small pan add the soya cream, brown sugar and dairy free butter and stir over a medium to high heat until the ‘butter’ had melted and it reaches boiling point.
• Set a timer for 15 mins and let the liquid reduce to a thick toffee sauce. Don’t leave unattended, you’ll need to give it a stir once in a while and ensure it doesn’t boil over.
• Remove from the heat and pour into your pudding basin or equally divide across your four mini pudding bowl. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

To make the pudding sponge

• Return to your bowl of soaking dates. Add the ground flaxseed (or egg) and the dairy free butter (I melt mine for 10 seconds in the microwave) and mix thoroughly to combine, you’ll notice the dates will have plumped up, and broken down into a date paste.
• Add the gluten free self raising flour and bicarbonate of soda and beat until combined. Spoon into you chosen pudding bowls cover loosely with kitchen foil. Place on a baking tray.
• Pop into the oven for 20mins for individual mini puddings or 35-40mins for one larger pudding.
• To test if the larger pudding is ready, remove the foil and insert a skewer, if it’s ready it will come out clean, the smaller puddings will be ready if bouncy to the touch. if you like, you can remove the foil for the last 5 minutes if baking a large sized pudding to brown the top (bottom) of the sponge.
• Serve immediately with lashings of lovely dairy free custard or cream.