Colin Bennett, Community volunteer, Action for Sustainable Living, www.afsl.org.uk
Reproduced from Didsbury Dinners: The Low-Carbon Community Cookbook
Serves 6
250g/9oz pitted prunes
250ml/approx ½ pint soya milk
100ml/1/5 pint water
120g/4oz soft brown sugar
120g/4oz margarine
Pinch of nutmeg
½ tsp fresh ginger, grated (or you can use ground ginger)
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
200g/7oz self-raising flour
Toffee sauce
- 40g/1½oz margarine
- 40g/1½oz dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp golden syrup
- 1 tbsp molasses (or treacle)
- 100ml/1/5 pint soya cream
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 5. Grease a 20 x 20cm (8 x 8’’) baking tin.
Chop the prunes, and put them in a pan with the soya milk and water. Simmer until the prunes are soft. Remove from heat and then set aside to cool a little.
Beat the sugar into the margarine until it makes a smooth mix. Stir in the prune mixture.
Mix the spices and bicarb into the flour, then fold this into the margarine mix a bit at a time. Pour it into the prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile make the sauce. Melt the margarine over a low heat. Add the sugar, syrup and molasses. Once the sugar has dissolved (no graininess visible when you tip the pan from side to side) turn the heat up to a low simmer.
Keep simmering it until it’s getting quite thick, and the bubbles coming through it are going quite slowly – around 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the soya cream.
You can either pour all the sauce over the cake, or reserve some of it to spoon over when you serve.
© Amanda Woodvine for Didsbury Dinners, 2o11. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the copyright owner.
Food photography: © Chava Eichner