Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F. Grease a large glass or ceramic ovenproof dish (I used a 9 Inch or 23cm square or round baking dish, it should hold about 1.5 liters or ½ a quart).
Place the cup of chopped dates in a heatproof bowl. Sprinkle the baking soda over the dates. Pour the hlaf cup boiling water over the dates, and allow the dates to soak in the boiling water until cool. This will take between 5 and 15 minutes.
1 cup dates, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ cup boiling water
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar and eggs together until light and fluffy.
¼ cup butter, ½ cup white granulated sugar, 2 eggs
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the butter mixture. Then pour the date mixture into the large bowl, and mix together until combined.
1¼ cups plain flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon table salt
If adding in nuts, stir them through the brandy tart batter.
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Pour the tipsy tart sponge into your baking dish. Bake the tipsy tart for 30 to 40 minutes or until a skewer or cake tester comes out clean. Poke the tart all over with the toothpick or cake tester.
Tipsy Tart Syrup
In the last 5 or so minutes the tart sponge is baking, dissolve the brown sugar in the water on low heat.
½ cup light brown sugar, ¾ cup water
Bring the sugar-water mixture to a boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add in the vanilla, butter and brandy. Pour the syrup over the tart straight out the oven. Allow the tart to cool a bit before serving.
1 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ - ½ cup brandy, 1 teaspoon table salt
Serve the pudding warm or cool with custard, cream or ice cream.
All temperatures stated are for conventional ovens. Decrease the temperature by 20°C/25°F or gas mark 1 for "fan" or air-fryers.
Notes
Plain flour can be substituted with self-raising flour and leaving out the baking powder.
Brandy (preferably South African brandy) gives the syrup a little kick. But can be substituted with a plain dark rum. You can increase the brandy to ½ cup if you want.
Expert Tips
Make sure the oven is fully preheated and that the rack is in the middle of the oven. All ovens work slightly differently and bake times may need to be adjusted for your specific oven. Make the syrup in the last few minutes of the bake. This syrup must be poured over the tart while it is still warm. The syrup is absorbed completely into the pudding, at first, it may seem like it is too much but trust the process.This pudding can be made the morning of, or the day before an event, complete from beginning to end, including adding the syrup.
Storage and Freezing
Store this pudding covered in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. I recommend reheating the pudding in the microwave before serving. This pudding can be frozen for up to 2 months. Make sure the pudding is sealed in an airtight container. Allow it to defrost in the fridge overnight before serving. Heat in the oven or the microwave before serving.