Date Puddings with Sesame Ice-Cream and Caramel

Ingredients

• 450 ml milk
• 375 gm pitted dates, coarsely chopped
• Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 120 gm softened butter
• 220 gm caster sugar (1 cup)
• 3 eggs
• 225 gm self-raising flour, sieved (1½ cups)
• Pinch each of ground allspice and ground cinnamon
• Sesame ice-cream
• 80 gm sesame seeds
• 500 ml milk (2 cups)
• 3 tsp tahini
• 250 ml pouring cream (1 cup)
• 6 egg yolks
• 120 gm caster sugar
• Salted caramel
• 275 gm caster sugar
• 180 ml pouring cream
• 50 gm unsalted butter