Chocolate Date Cake:

• Preheat your oven to 350F (conventional / no fan) and grease a 7x11 or 9x9 baking pan lightly with butter
• Place the chopped dates in a bowl. Pour over the boiling water and milk and add the baking soda. Cover and set aside for 5-10 minutes while you work on the steps below
• In a separate bowl, whisk the unsalted butter and brown sugar for 2-3 minutes until the mixture looks light and fluffy in texture
• Add the eggs and vanilla, and whisk again until combined. It's ok if the mixture looks somewhat separated
• Once the dates have soaked, transfer the entire mixture to a blender and blend into a smooth paste. Whisk that into the butter, sugar and egg mixture until combined
• Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Gently fold until the dry ingredients are just combined and you have a smooth cake batter
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for ~25-28 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with light, moist crumbs attached. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool at room temperature while you make the sauce

Chocolate Toffee Sauce:

• Add all the ingredients to a nonstick saucepan. Place on medium low heat and cook and stir for a few minutes until the butter and chocolate have melted and a smooth sauce forms. Remove from the heat as soon as the sauce starts to thicken up. Taste and adjust as needed (for example, I added a little bit of cocoa powder for a more chocolatey flavor)
• Once the cake has rested for 10 minutes, use a skewer to poke holes all over it (keeping it in the same pan)
• Pour over the chocolate toffee sauce so the cake can soak it up. You will use up about 3/4 of the sauce and reserve 1/4 for serving, but feel free to adjust based on your preference
• Let the cake soak the sauce for ~10-20 minutes
• Slice up, serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and more sauce, and enjoy!

Video Tutorial: