This slow cooker sticky date pudding is so moreish and delicious everyone will want a slice. Best of all, it’s free of gluten, dairy, eggs, soy and nuts. It’s one of those desserts you can make no matter who you’re feeding and without any compromise on texture or flavour – promise.

Slow Cooker Sticky Date Pudding

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 5

Standing Time 5

Course Baking, Desserts

Servings

Equipment

Slow Cooker
2L pudding basin or small casserole dish (preferably with lid) that fits inside slow cooker

Ingredients

280 g pitted dates
250 ml boiling water
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal*
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
110 g brown sugar
2 tablespoons light-tasting olive oil + extra for greasing
1½ teaspoons mixed spice
150 g gluten-free plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Instructions

Place dates, water, flaxseed meal and bicarbonate of soda in a high-powered blender or food processor, stir to combine. Stand for 5 minutes.
Add sugar, oil and spice. Process until well combined and dates are chopped but still a little chunky, 5–10 seconds.
Add flour and baking powder, process on low speed until just combined.
Grease a 2L pudding basin with olive oil using a pastry brush. Pour in date mixture. Give it a couple of bangs on the bench to release any air bubbles. Cover pudding with lid or foil, sealing tightly.
Place inside slow cooker, then add water until pudding basin is two-thirds submerged. Cover and cook for 5 hours on high.

5 HOURS LATER

Check a skewer inserted in the pudding comes out more or less clean – not covered in raw mixture. If needed, cover and cook for a further 30 minutes on high.
Once cooked, remove pudding basin from slow cooker and allow to stand for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate. It’s warm and ready to serve! Cut thick slices and serve with cream, gooey caramel sauce, poached pears, ice cream or fresh strawberries . . . or a combination. Just as good served cold, so don’t stress if you’re struggling to get the timing exactly right – you can make it up to 3 days in advance and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Notes

Flaxseed meal is simply flaxseeds (also known as linseeds) milled down to a fine powder. You can buy it pre-milled, but honestly, it’s often not fresh and frankly not very nice – it’s best to mill your own as needed, or mill a couple of tablespoons at a time and store in the fridge or freezer. Use a high-powered blender or coffee grinder, and remember 1 tablespoon of whole flaxseeds will come out as less than 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal.

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Slow Cooker Sticky Date Pudding