Hello lovelies,
My favourite season of all has finally arrived and boy, am I excited. Here in the UK we’ve had the hottest summer on record and as much as I love waking up to clear blue skies, I’m very ready to snuggle under the blankets whilst the rain is pouring and go into hibernation for the next 6 months haha.
{FYI: I know autumn doesn’t officially begin until late September but to me, it starts on the 1st. It always has done. At this point I’m more than ready to say goodbye to summer, anyone with me?}
With each season comes different types of baking. Whilst I have throughly enjoyed baking each of my summer bakes and have made new favourites which will continue to be made each summer – I am unbelievably excited to be entering the season of all things spices, A/W fruits and deep rich flavours.
WOW! have I got some incredible recipes lined up for you guys. I have felt so inspired to get creating autumnal bakes for you this year and I cannot wait for you to see what I have in store. Get your aprons at the ready my friends, your not going to want to pass on these…
I, of course had to kick off the autumnal content with a bang, it wouldn’t be right otherwise! Todays pudding is quite honestly an autumnal dream. Put it this way, if autumn and deserts had a child, it would be this beast.
If your looking for a desert that’s soul warming, THIS IS IT! It’s the perfect cosy night in, snuggled under the blanket with your fur babies watching rubbish tv kinda desert – I can promise you, you’ll get 100% sweet treat satisfaction from it, that’s for sure.
If the sound of this desert doesn’t take your fancy, I don’t know what will. Let’s get our bake on…

Ingredients You Need For Traybake:
- 175g Of Pitted Dates
- 250ml Of Water
- 1tsp Of Bicarbonate Of Soda
- 100g Of Unsalted Butter, Chopped & Softened
- 170g Of Caster Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 125g Of Self-Raising Flour
- 48g Of Almond Flour
- 1tsp Of Mixed Spice
- 825g Of Pear Halves In Syrup ( 2 Tins )
- 20g Of Toasted Almond Flakes
Ingredients You Need For Butterscotch Sauce:
- 300ml Of Thickened Cream
- 150g Of Unsalted Butter, Chopped
- 215g Of Brown Sugar
How To Make Traybake:
- Firstly, gather together your equipment and ingredients, line a large pyrex dish with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 200C / 180C Fan / Gas Mark 5.
- Secondly, in a medium sized saucepan, combine the 175g of pitted dates and 250ml of water and bring to the boil.
- Once it’s reached the boil, turn off the heat and stir in 1tsp of bicarbonate of soda (the mixture will foam a little) and then set aside for around 15 minutes to cool.
- Whilst that’s cooling, in a large bowl, using an electric whisk, beat together the 100g of unsalted butter with 170g of caster sugar until lighter in colour and fluffy in texture.
- Next, add the 2 eggs, one at a time making sure you beat well between each addition.
- Now, stir in 125g of self-raising flour, 48g of almond flour and 1tsp of mixed spice.
- Then, stir in the cooled dates paste until everything is combined.
- Spoon your traybake batter into your pre-lined pyrex dish and smooth out the surface.
- Set the traybake aside.
- Next, drain the syrup from the pear halves and using a knife slice the pear halves lengthways to create two pear faces.
- Pat the sliced pear halves with some kitchen roll.
- Now, arrange the pear halves on top of the traybake batter in a single layer, making sure you push down slightly into the batter.
- Place the traybake into the oven for around 40-50 minutes until a skewer placed into the centre of the bake comes out clean.
- Once baked, take out the oven and leave to cool.
How To Make Butterscotch Sauce:
- Whilst the traybake is cooling, it’s time to make the butterscotch sauce.
- In a medium sized saucepan, add 300ml of thickened cream, 150g of chopped unsalted butter and 215g of brown sugar and place over a low heat.
- Continuously stirring until the sugar dissolves and the butter has melted.
- Once melted, increase to a medium heat, bring to the boil and cook for a further 3 minutes, making sure you stir occasionally.
- Now, remove from the heat and set aside for a couple of minutes until the bubbles subside.
- Pour 1/4 of the hot butterscotch sauce over the cooled traybake. Leaving the rest for later.
- Finally, scatter the 20g of toasted almonds over the traybake.
That’s your Sticky Date & Pear Traybake prepared, baked, covered in sauce and ready for you to enjoy!

Yes! Yes! Yasssss! This is a killer desert and quite frankly I’m obsessed with the outcome. It really is delicious.
This is only the beginning guys, get excited as there’s plenty more where this came from.
Let me know in the comments below if you make this desert yourself and if you do, what your thoughts are on it. Are you a sticky date fan?
Sending you all tons of love & hugs as always,
Elle xo
This looks delicious Elle! That butterscotch sauce sounds like the perfect complement. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
This looks amazing Elle! Super yummy. X
This looks so delicious! I also love autumn season even though Malaysia doesn’t have autumn. Hehehe ^_^ I love checking out pumpkin recipes and other posts about autumn. Have a beautiful season.
Ooo this looks incredible! What a perfect recipe to welcome fall. (I also celebrate it on the 1st too haha) Thank you for sharing!
Another yummy recipe. Thank you for sharing. 🤗
Pastor Natalie (ExamineThisMoment)
Letstakeamoment.com
This looks so yum! Thanks for the recipe.
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
Dates are not grown in Jamaica. When I was first introduced to it years ago, it took me a while to acquire the taste and texture. But love how versatile it is, including the unique way you use it yo make these delicious looking stick dates and pear tray bake.
Oh, this is perfect for this Fall season! Your recipe ideas are amazing and I love a good fruity-based traybake!
This sticky date and pear traybake looks so tasty! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
This looks so delicious! I love trying different traybakes, and your recipes always look amazing. Thank you for sharing x