Nigella's sticky toffee pudding without dates?

[VenetiaLanyon]

Can this be done? Am not a big dried-fruit fan, but my love of sticky toffee pudding knows no bounds.

The dates are a big part of the flavour and fudginess of STP. Is it the Nigella recipe where you pour boiling water on the top of the cake batter? I haven't made it for ages but it is good :) Dates are not like most dried fruit, sultanas etc, in that they kind of become part of the texture of the cake instead of being separate little nuggets, iyswim? You can chop them up really finely, maybe blitz in a processor, and I think you wouldn't notice them, but I think you would notice the lack of them if you missed them out. The pudding would really be missing something I think.

I think most STP recipes have dates, don't they?
But unless you'd made it before, or had seen the recipe written down, you'd struggle to identify dates as a key component.

Venetia - if you love STP then you must have eaten the datey version!

Or you could try a recipe like this where the dates are pureed before adding to the batter so you would have no bits, but its an awful lot more faff than the all in one Nigella recipe because you have to make a separate sauce.

NB recipe here with no dates, but if you look at the picture, it does not look as unctuous as normal...

I think you must have eaten dates without being aware of it...sticky toffee and dates belong in the same sentence.

The Jamie Oliver one that WhinGin linked to is delicious. Bit of a faff making the sauce separately, but I make double the amount so I can have loads of sauce or eat it in its own with a spoon

I can't bear getting whole big bits of dates in a STP; perhaps I'll grit my teeth and add them in but as a puree. Will stick to the Nigella recipe as looks a lot less hassle than Jamie....

I love sticky toffee pudding but hate dates...I put them in and chop them small, and it is delicious! I use the Delia recipe.

I pour boiling water over the dates & them purée. The mix is a bit heavier, so each time I've made it, I've added more liquid (water or milk).

Thanks folks; fed-up, you give me hope!