Neil Hiskey - sticky toffee pudding recipe

Chef Neil Hiskey

Archant

Sticky toffee pudding

The chef - Neil Hiskey

Neil Hiskey joined the Millstream in 1999 and was promoted to Head Chef in 2009, the week before his 30th birthday. Leading his team of nine chefs, Neil is responsible for all of the food served in the Millstream 2 AA rosette Restaurant and Marwick’s Brasserie. He is passionate about using the best locally sourced produce to create dishes that look and taste superb. Whilst most of the food that Neil cooks is ‘Modern British’, his favourite holiday destination is Thailand and several of the dishes that he has created have been influenced by the wonderfully flavoured foods that he has

enjoyed there.

The bottle - Cockburns Tawny Port

Popular dessert wines, such as Sauternes and Muscat, pair well with sticky toffee pudding. However, you could also try pairing it with fortified wines, which can work equally well. Enjoy a glass of Cockburns Tawny Port, with its aromas of dried fruits combined with toffee and caramel flavours, imparted by the wood ageing, alongside the sweet and sticky toffee pudding.

The dish - Steamed sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce and banana ice cream

Everyone loves a good sticky toffee pudding, and here Neil shares his version, which is served with a banana and lime parfait in the Millstream Restaurant, and with banana ice cream in Marwick’s Brasserie.

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Steamed sticky toffee pudding

7 tbsp demerara sugar

300g pitted dates

2 vanilla pods

75g unsalted butter, softened

275g dark brown sugar

3 tbsp golden syrup

3 tbsp black treacle

300g self-raising flour

3 free-range eggs

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Butter and caster sugar for greasing the pudding basin

Method

1 Grease the pudding basins with butter and caster sugar

2 Place the dates in a pan with 300ml of water. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a food processor and blend with the vanilla seeds. Set aside.

3 Beat the softened butter and dark brown sugar together until smooth.

4 Add the golden syrup, treacle, flour, eggs, bicarbonate of soda and the blended dates. Mix until combined.

5 Pour the mixture into the prepared basins, cover with foil and secure with an elastic band. Steam for one hour.

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Toffee sauce

115g unsalted butter

75g golden caster sugar

40g dark muscovado sugar

140ml double cream

Method

Put all of the ingredients into a saucepan, heat slowly until the butter has melted and then slowly bring to the boil for about four minutes, until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.

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Banana base for banana ice cream

250g sugar

25g lemon juice

300g banana

75g water

Method

Add the sugar, water and lemon juice to the pot and mix to a wet sand.

Bring up to the boil to a light caramel, add the banana and turn the heat down to medium.

Cook for 20 minutes, cool the mix and blend in a mixer, until it’s a puree.

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Banana ice cream

1.44kg milk

140g double cream

385g caster sugar

175g egg yolks

300g banana base

Method

1 Bring the milk, cream and half the sugar to the boil, add the yolks with the rest of the sugar and whisk.

2 Once the mix comes to the boil, pour it into the egg mix, then back into the pan, whisking constantly until it reaches 76 degrees celsius.

3 Then turn off the heat and pass through a sieve, cool down over ice then add the banana base and churn in an ice cream maker.