on Dec 07, 2022 Sticky Toffee Pudding is almost synonymous with Christmas – just like a good, old fashioned Plum Cake but most recipes online can be tricky because they ask for special ingredients like treacle which I haven’t found easily in India. So here’s my attempt to create the ultimate Sticky Toffee Pudding but with whatever’s easily available. Its rich, intense and tastes almost like gingerbread without any spices. The sponge is really soft from the dates, the warm rum toffee sauce seeps in and makes every bite so moist and when you top it with vanilla ice cream and more toffee sauce, you have a dessert that is impossible to stop eating!!
What is sticky toffee pudding?
Sticky toffee pudding is a classic British dessert consisting of a soft, sweet cake made out of dates. It is then soaked in a warm toffee pudding and is served with either vanilla custard, vanilla pudding or vanilla ice cream. A final drizzle of sticky toffee sauce adds another delicious layer of flavor. The result is a rich, cosy, comforting and makes for the perfect holiday dessert.
What does sticky toffee pudding taste like?
This dessert has a rich and sweet flavor. Don’t worry if you don’t like dates as sticky toffee pudding doesn’t taste too much of dates. They just help to add a cosy, caramel-y flavor which is so perfect for the holiday season. But thanks to brown sugar, cream and dates, this dessert does taste quite sweet. So if those flavors aren’t your thing then this dessert might not be for you.
Ingredients for Sticky Toffee Pudding
I’ve broken the ingredients down into two parts. As you’ll see the sponge and the cake both have very few basic ingredients, but the result is still stunning and perfect.
For the Date Sponge
Dates are key to the sponge. You can’t taste them separately but they add that caramel like flavour and also keep the sponge soft and moist. The same with brown sugar. I don’t recommend swapping it with white sugar because brown sugar also makes the sponge soft. You’ll notice that the batter is quite runny because of the hot water, but don’t worry, the final sponge has just the right texture.
For the Toffee Sauce
Caramel Sauce or Toffee Sauce may seem like a difficult thing but just needs a bit of patience. Watch the video to see how textures change from solid sugar to melting, runny sauce. The sauce should be runny and of pourable consistency. It can easily be made a week ahead and refrigerated and when you are ready to serve, just warm it up in the microwave and it’ll come back to liquid consistency.
How to make Date Pudding
Here’s a quick step by step to show you how to make this recipe:
- Soak Dates with baking soda in hot water. This makes them easy to mash
- Mash the dates with a potato masher till they break down almost completely
- Cream together brown butter and sugar for a few minutes
- Add eggs one by one and whisk them till fully incorporated
- Sieve baking powder, salt and all purpose flour into the batter. Mix well.
- Add mashed dates and whisk till the dates are incorporated
- Pour hot water into the batter and mix till you have a runny batter
- Pour the batter into a lined and greased 8X8 cake tin and bake
- Heat brown sugar, lemon juice and water in a pan on medium heat till the sugar dissolves. Heat this for 5-6 minutes till the mixture is amber coloured
- Add butter, cream and dark rum. Combine and mix until all the ingredients are well incorporated
- Cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Add vanilla extract and mix.
- The sauce should thicken and look glossy. When you run a spatula at the bottom, the gap should be clearly visible. Set this aside.
- Poke holes in the cake once it comes out of the oven. It should still be warm.
- Pour 2-3 tablespoons of the warm toffee sauce all over the cake. Rest this for 20-30 minutes to allow the cake to soak up all the sauce. The sticky toffee pudding is now ready to serve topped with ice cream and more toffee sauce! The sponge can be refrigerated for later. For the best tasting pudding, always warm up the slices in a microwave before serving. The combination of warm, moist, sticky cake topped with cold ice cream is what makes this so so special.
Watch the Recipe Video
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