When we tried this sauce out earlier in the year, one (highly discriminating) ‘tester’ proclaimed:

“this is the best ice cream sauce I have ever tasted”

Personally I  think hot chocolate sauce, and butterscotch-caramel sauce, still have much to be said for them, but nevertheless this date (or prune) syrup remains a very strong contender.

In any case, as I have already said, December is a month to cut the work to be done in the kitchen to the quick and this is about the quickest pudding you could imagine. The sauce can be left in the fridge for up to a month – the longer, in fact, the better – so it’s an excellent ‘made ahead of time’, instant dish. Prunes go well with the slightly rougher Armagnac, while dates are to die for in Cognac.

If you are a guest this Christmas, this is a good gift to take along.

However, don’t just think ice cream! There are all kinds of other uses for date syrup:

• salad dressings
• dips
• gravies
• add residue to christmas stuffings

Recipe for brandy and date syrup

Serves 4

All you have to do is mix half a cup (about 100g) chopped, dried, stoned prunes, or the same amount of chopped, stoned dates, and put them in a jar and fill up to cover with your chosen booze – it’ll be about about half a cup (120ml). If you want it to taste a touch more Christmasy you can infuse a cinnamon stick in the mix as well.

Mix together, leave to soak a minimum of three hours, but days is better, and serve with slightly softened ice cream.

Follow this link for how to make a fabulous, dead-simple vanilla ice cream to impress everyone.