Paper Chef # 7

Date Nut Pudding With Honeyed Whipped Cream 

Paper chef # 7 is sponsored this month by Owen at Tomatilla with the final ingredients:

1)Buttermilk (I guess you can substitute a mixture of plain yoghurt and milk if buttermilk is not available). For the lactose intolerant substitute any milky analog you like.
2)Medjdool dates - again, if you can't get the specific medjdool, any other date will do
3)Honey - any kind - and if honey is not possible for some reason (allergies?) then any sweet substitute will do (splenda etc for diabetics)
4)And the topical/seasonal ingredient? Not terribly topical or seasonal but I made a decision about using the first ingredient I ran across in a news story today - and it is eggs...again, if eggs are a dietary no-no then substitute whatever non-egg substitute you normally use.

In that dates are not a staple in my pantry, I had to search hard for a recipe which I would eat. Food TV listed a recipe for nut-date muffins with a honey butter. That just seemed too obvious and it was apparent to me that muffins would be a choice by many. I finally found an obscure recipe for Date Nut Pudding. Yea, I know, it’s a winter dish, but I didn’t pick the ingredients. Here it is. Of note, this is an extremely sweet nutty pudding. The taste was similar to a Pecan Pie. Make sure you have a glass of milk on the side.


Recipe adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook, Julee Rosso and Shiela Lukins

Date Nut Pudding

1 stick butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 ½ tablespoons all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 cup pitted coarsely chopped dates
1 cup shelled pecans coarsely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons creamed honey

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Well grease a glass or ceramic baking dish 9X9.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy and light.

Add eggs and buttermilk, flour and baking powder. Mix well.

Fold in dates and pecans.

Turn into the prepared baking dish and place on middle rack of oven. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until set.

Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold in the honey until blended. Chill.

Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with a spoonful of the honeyed whipped cream.