Sticky Gingerbread Pudding with Toffee Sauce

method:

• Butter a 1.7-litre pudding basin and put a tablespoon of the chopped stem ginger in the base. Set half of the remaining ginger aside and finely chop the rest.
• To make the toffee sauce, melt the sugar and butter together over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and whisk in the syrup and wine, simmer for one minute, then add the remaining roughly chopped stem ginger. Remove from the heat.
• Add the pecans to the pudding basin and spoon over three tablespoons of the toffee sauce.
• In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one by one, beating thoroughly after each addition.
• Stir in the finely chopped stem ginger, root ginger, syrup and dates, then sift the flour and spices into the bowl and fold in.
• Spoon the mixture into the pudding basin, cover with a sheet of buttered greaseproof paper then a sheet of foil, and secure with string.
• Put the basin in a large saucepan, add enough boiling water to come halfway up the basin and put over a low heat. Cover the pan and steam for three hours, topping up the water as necessary.
• Remove the basin from the saucepan and allow to cool for five minutes. Reheat the toffee sauce and put it into a jug, turn the pudding out onto a plate and serve together.