The Best Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe

Recipe: Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe »

This is the ultimate sticky toffee pudding recipe! A moist, spiced date sponge is drenched in a rich homemade toffee sauce for the most comforting British dessert. Easy to make ahead and perfect served warm with vanilla ice cream, custard or cream.

About This Sticky Toffee Pudding

Sticky toffee pudding or sticky date pudding is one of the most delicious English desserts (I'm OBSESSED with it!). Sticky Toffee Pudding is a spiced date sponge over which a silky toffee or butterscotch sauce is poured. Serve it with vanilla custard, ice cream or single cream for a delicious winter dessert. There is some debate about who created it although it was first seen in the early 1900's at The Gait Inn in Millington, East Riding of Yorkshire.

Why You'll Love Sticky Toffee Pudding

It is made using simple, easy to find ingredients that you can find at the supermarket.

There's nothing complicated about sticky toffee pudding in the method or ingredients.

It can be made a couple of hours ahead of time or even a couple of days ahead of time and then reheated.

You can spice this up and make this more "adult" tasting. I'll show you how to get a more intense, rich flavour for the cake and sauce.

It is sweet but we balance the sweetness with spices and salt.

This is different from a self saucing caramel pudding, we bake the cake first and then cook the caramel sauce.

If you love other British puddings try Bread & Butter Pudding or this Bread & Butter Pudding version that is served with Madagascan Vanilla Custard.

Video How To Make Sticky Toffee Pudding

Video: Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe

Ingredients For Sticky Toffee Pudding

Dates - You don't have to get fancy Medjool dates. This works just as well as dried, pitted dates. I save the medjool dates for eating fresh and snacking on and use the dried pitted dates for Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Boiling water - straight from a kettle is best. We need the water hot to soften the dates.

Bicarb - Bicarb or baking soda is different from baking powder (it is 3-4 times stronger!). This helps break down the dates and soften them down into a pulp.

Butter - Y'all know I'm going to say salted butter right?

Sugar - I use dark brown sugar or muscovado sugar for the cake for added flavour and aroma. You can also use light brown sugar and add a tablespoon of molasses or treacle to give it a more licoricey intensity. For the syrup I prefer light brown sugar.

Cake flour - Cake flour is a lower protein flour designed to make fluffier, lighter cakes. It can be bought at the supermarket or you can make it yourself. To make 1 cup of cake flour, replace 2 tablespoons of plain flour with cornflour/fine cornstarch and whisk.

Baking powder - to give the cake rise, make sure it's in date!

Spices - ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves, vanilla. Can also use pumpkin pie spice mix too.

Salt - use fine salt

Eggs - large eggs, room temperature

Cream - use thickened or whipping cream for the sauce

Tips For Making Sticky Toffee Pudding

1 - Keep the eggs room temperature and the butter softened. Curdling can occur when there is too much water (in the egg) for the butter to handle. This can be somewhat offset by adding the egg in slowly but a little curdling is inevitable. But don't worry once you add in the flour it will all emulsify well.

2 - Make sure not to open the oven door before the time is up. Baking in a square baking dish means that the edges cook faster before the middle has a chance to set.

3 - Make the sauce 15 minutes before the cake comes out of the oven. Then add the sauce to the cake when both are hot so that the sauce absorbs into the cake and gives it a rich lusciousness.

UPGRADE: To make this a more intensely flavoured adult dessert: use muscovado sugar in both the cake and the sauce where it will be gloriously dark and glossy. Also add 1 tablespoon of brandy to the sauce. I like to make one of each if there's a big crowd and people can choose whichever one they like!

For more cosy favourites like this, take a look at my British recipes.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Recipe Overview

Preparation time: 30 minutes plus 20 minutes steeping time

Cooking time: 60 minutes

Serves: 9

Ingredients Needed

For Cake

• 200g/7oz pitted dried dates
• 180ml/6fl oz boiling water
• 1 teaspoon bicarb
• 80g/2.8oz butter, softened
• 90g/3oz dark brown sugar or muscovado sugar
• 160g/5.6oz cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• Pinch cloves
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla (paste, extract or essence)

For Sauce

• 100g/3.5oz butter
• 200g/7oz light brown sugar
• 250ml/8.8fl oz cream (thickened or whipping)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla (paste, extract or essence)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 DATES - Chop dates finely and add the boiling water on top. Stir in the bicarb and let it fizz. Cover and allow to steep for at least 20 minutes (I sometimes do this overnight). Then mash them with a fork so that they become a glossy brown mixture.

Step 2 BEAT - Preheat oven to 160C/320F fan forced or 180C/350F conventional. Grease a 20cm/8 inch square baking dish that is at least 2 inches high. In a mixer bowl fitted with a beater attachment, beat the butter and sugar for 5 minutes on high until pale and fluffy. Whisk the eggs and vanilla in a jug and slowly pour them into the butter mixture. Don't worry if the mixture curdles or splits.

Step 3 FOLD - Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt together in a bowl. Add in the flour mixture in 2 lots and mix in by hand or on the lowest speed setting until just combined. Fold in dates and liquid and mix to distribute. Pour into the greased dish and bake for 45 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Step 4 SAUCE - 15 minutes before the cake is ready, make the sauce. Place the butter in a medium saucepan and melt. Add the sugar and whisk until the butter and sugar are emulsified completely. Pour in the cream and whisk in. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook bubbling away for 5-8 minutes until it becomes a glossy sauce.

Step 5 POKE - When the cake is ready, poke all over with a skewer and pour half of the hot sauce over the cake. Using oven gloves, tip the baking dish from side to side to allow the sauce to cover and soak in. Let stand for at least 30 minutes. Cut into 9 slices and serve with remaining warmed sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Personal Note

I made quite a few of these just to arrive at the best combo. I tested versions with muscovado sugar vs dark brown sugar vs light brown sugar and brandy vs no brandy in the sauce. All of my neighbours got to try a few versions and I also gave some to friends. And this recipe is the result of that testing.

I knew one neighbour Nicki would like this version. She gives great feedback, is very detailed and discerning but she doesn't like strong flavours or strong spices whereas I tend to go towards stronger flavours and spices. And I knew that she'd like this version the best. She likes the version of something that you probably grew up eating at home vs the restaurant experimental version and that's a great person to get an opinion from.

And sure enough, she thought that the version using the highly aromatic muscovado sugar had too much going on. And I had to agree with her that this version was the best.

So tell me Dear Reader, do you like food with strong flavours and spices or do you prefer milder tasting food?