Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.

In a saucepan, bring the chopped dates and water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. Let it sit and cool slightly.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add this mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.

Fold the date mixture into the batter until well incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the toffee sauce. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, butter, and heavy cream. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Once the pudding is baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Carefully invert it onto a serving plate.

Pour half of the warm toffee sauce over the pudding and serve the remaining sauce on the side for drizzling.

Serve sticky toffee pudding warm, ideally with vanilla ice cream or clotted cream.