Sticky, sticky, sticky toffee pudding

I am always looking for recipes that my friends swear by. Recently a colleague of mine started talking about a recipe he had come across that he described as the ultimate Sticky Toffee Pudding that is served in first class on Qantas Airlines. He supplied me the recipe and I took a few liberties to enhance it even more. It was a massive hit at work the following week. Here is my rendition of this recipe 

1 lb pitted dates

 2 cups boiling water

1 tsp baking soda

6 Tbsp softened unsalted butter

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2cups all purpose flour

1 /2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Sauce

8 Tbsp butter

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup whipping cream

preheat oven to 350

In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the pitted dates, add the baking soda and stir. Let sit for 10 minutes the mush it together . 

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt together. 

In another bowl cream the butter and sugar together then add in the eggs one at a time. Now alternate adding the dates and flour three times, beating till incorporated. You should end with flour. Pour the mixture into a parchment lined 8 inch square pan. 

Bake 30-40 minutes in the lower third of the over until your tester comes clean. 

In the meantime, make the SA use by melting the butter in a saucepan then added the sugar and stir till sugar melted. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes the add the cream and whisk. Continue to simmer a further 5 minutes stirring occasionally. 

When the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes in it with a chopstick. Pour half the sauce evenly over the cake and set aside. When ready to serve you can reheat the cake and the sauce or serve at room temperature. You can add ice cream and more sauce if desired.