English Date Pudding

Dissolve 1-1/2 cups brown sugar in 1-1/2 cups cold water, put in a baking dish and add it to a batter made of the following:
1 scant cup white sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
1/2 cup chopped dates (The recipe writer say she uses more dates and so may you.)
1 scant cup milk
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
A pinch of salt
The recipe writer admonishes the preparer, "By all means, do not stir the sugar and water and batter together. Pour batter carefully in the sugar and water.
Bake in a deep pan in an oven of 350 degrees until pudding is done or about an hour.
The brown sugar makes puddings own sauce, but it can be served with whipped cream.
Half of this recipe makes enough for 4 servings. (From this ingredient saving hint for a smaller table of diners, one can surmise that the full recipe serves 8. Of course, you may double the recipe for enough servings for 16.)

Please contact me if you need more instructions.