Mom's Date Pudding Cake

This is a favorite recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at our house. Hard to find this recipe in cookbooks but it is really worth trying.

We LOVE this. I scale it down and cook it in several ramekins. I omit the sugar from the batter, and just add tiny amount of butter (1/4 tsp maybe?) to the syrup and just nuke it rather than the stove top. I make sure there is plenty of syrup and completely cover the pudding. Serve it with custard and all you will hear is "mmmmmm". This is also nice with some candied ginger added,or finely diced apple and different nuts. I think the pecans are the nicest though. Some of the reviewers comment that it is a christmas/special event treat. We eat this a couple of nights a week in winter, it is wicked. Thank you so much for submitting this recipe, it is so much more healthier than most other sticky date puddings.

I was very sceptical about this recipe but I had some dates to use up so I dedided to try it anyway. The only alterations I made were leaving out all the sugar in the cake itself (it was sweet anyway with the sugar on the dates and the v. rich sauce) and halving the sauce. It was still very sweet and yummy! Actually quite low-fat due to there being no eggs in it and only a small amount of butter in the sauce (which I halved anyway remember). You would never guess from the finished product the weird ingredient list. Please try this cake without prior predjudice!

this was a huge mess - this recipe didn't follow any method i have seen in any recipe before!! it starts out with a weird dough, THEN you pour the butter on it?? and no eggs?! strange!

I made this for Thanksgiving dinner. Even folks who didn't like dates. I was told that I now have to bring this to every family get-together. They agreed it was better than even pecan pie. I did substitute pecans for the walnuts.

another pleaser. i serve it upright but i wonder if it would be better flipped upside down? changes: * increased dates to 1 1/3 cups (suggest even upping to 1 2/3 c) * cut dates in half * eliminated nuts * used only 4 tablespoons butter (suggest reducing further to 2 1/2 tbsp)

I had lost my own date pudding reicipe and thought I would give this a try, but it was terribly sweet (3 cups of sugar) and the natural rich taste of the dates was lost. Out of my family, three members ate it, but three of us found it inedible.

THIS RECIPE COULDNT HAVE BEEN EASIER OR MORE WONDERFUL! VERY RICH! (ALTHOUGH MY BOYFRIED ATE 3 PIECES IN A ROW). IT TASTED JUST LIKE A DESSERT AT AN AMISH RESTAURANT THAT CALLS IT "AMISH WEDDING DESSERT." I HAD BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR THIS RECIPE, ALTHOUGH THEIRS HAD CHUNKS OF BANANA IN IT, I MAY TRY THAT VARIATION NEXT TIME. THANKS FOR SHARING!

I was thrilled to find this recipe. My mother's best friend always made this date pudding at Christmas when I was a child, but I had never been able to replicate it before. Thanks!

Very, very nice. My cakes normally fail dismally but this one rose a treat. I will definitely make it again.

Wonderful! I made this recipe almost exactlybut had a few changes: -Instead of butter I used Brummel Yogurt Spread (to cut back on calories...it tasted fine) -1/2 the sugar in the batter -cut the dates in half I think next time I will use more dates, mostly because I love their taste. Also I will not add sugar into the batter, because the brown sugar sauce was enough. I agree with other reviews, in that the natural sugar of the dates is enough for the batter. Adding the sugar to the batter takes away from the date flavor. Thank you for submitting this recipe!

Near disaster... Is it supposed to be a thick batter or a dry mix? The 1/2 cup milk does not come close to moistening 1 1/2 cups of flour, dates and nuts. I had to add more tablespoons of milk one at a time to even combine the batter -- and I only used a 1/4 of the white sugar in the batter. There was no "pouring" going on. Then the 9x13 pan meant it was a very thin layer of thick goopiness to even come close to filling the bottom of the pan. The flavor was wonderful but I'm not certain it turned out as the recipe submitter would have intended. The syrup is the only thing that saved it. With more detailed instructions as to the batter and consistency, I might try it again.

My mother's Date Pudding was always one my special memories of Christmas, too. She was also one that did not need recipes but was able to create something with just a few notes scattered here and there. For years, I looked at my mother's recipe written in pencil with all the incredients but it had no instructions whatsoever! So, I decided to search for something that was similar to her handwritten recipe and yours was the closest. I am grateful to you. Thank you for helping me re-create that wonderful recipe we all remembered so fondly. I now have a total written recipe 'with instructions'! I think I can hear my mother's sweet laugh and her saying she knew I'd figure it out someday.

Thank you for submitting this recipe as it is hard to find this version where the mixture is boiled and poured over the batter. I had lost my recipe, similar to this one, that my mom had passed down to me. I usually would bake one of these cakes at Christmas and my family members loved it! It's very rich and just have to remember to cut smaller pieces.

It didn't work out for me. Maybe is only the recipe preparation. I mixed the batter and I pour it into the pan. I pour over the syrup and then I cooked on the over. But It looks very strange. I cooked it for more than 40 min at the temperature indicated on the recipe and it didn't set. :-(

I made this for Christmas dinner. I used pineapple instead of the dates. Measured out the pineapple juice and added enough water to make 2 cups. Put water/juice, brown sugar, butter and pineapple into a pot and bring to a boil. Turn heat to simmer. Cook for about 8-10 minutes. Follow the rest of directions! It was SO good, people were feeding it to others saying "Try this, it's soooo good." Then there was a fight over the last piece!

Excellent ans soooo easy recipe! Topped with whipped cream...a hit!

A scrumptious dessert! I did follow some reviewers' recommendations in omitting the sugar from the batter and decreasing the butter to 1 tablespoon. I also increased the amount of dates to 2 cups, which really accented the taste of dates in the pudding. You have to start with a light meal in order to enjoy this rich dessert. Thanks Peg :)

Excellent recipe. I've come to rely on most recipes on Allrecipes. However I rely more on comments that follow from those who have tried the recipe. So I halved the brown sugar in the syrup as suggested. Recipe turned out perfect! Definitely, will make again.

I had a hard time figuring this cake out, especially when I had to put it in the 9X13 pan. It hardly covered the bottom and it was so dry. I thought I had done something wrong. Then i poured the boiling water/sugar/butter mixture on top and put it in the oven for 35 min. like the recipe said. I couldn't imagine it being edible, but it was divine. I made it for Thanksgiving this year and ahead of time by a few days. Hoping it will freeze well. I know my family will love it (I tasted) and I will be making it for Christmas as well. Thank you SO much for this recipe. One of my favorites

Very simple to make. You'll probably already have most of the ingredients. I only had to purchase the dates and the walnuts. This dessert can be on your plate in 45 minutes, and it tastes delicious!

Turned out great. I made it for my grandmother's birthday and both she and everyone else enjoyed it.

Perfect results, our recipe disappeared in a move and this is exactly like my memories.