Sticky Toffee Pudding

This luscious Sticky Toffee Pudding is super moist and delicious. Rich and sweet from the plump dates, these puddings are drenched in a dark, rich, sticky toffee sauce. This is my take on a classic British dessert that’s the perfect finisher for any meal.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe

One of my favorite desserts to order at a restaurant are always these sticky toffee puddings. They’re sweet, rich, usually served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream then drizzled with lots of that sticky toffee sauce. What’s not to love?

It’s such a  simple cake to make right at home and out of all the sticky toffee puddings I’ve tried, and I’ve tried many, I must say my version is the best. I may be biased, but I have made this cake many times and I think I got it just right.

This sticky toffee pudding really is pure comfort in a bowl. You will want to eat this warm and you want to make sure you let that sauce slowly drip and soak into the cake for a bit or drizzle it over a scoop of ice cream and watch the ice cream slowly melt and turn into a pool of yumminess.

Cake

• Dates – The base of this recipe is a date cake. Dates add sweetness and a soft, chewy texture to this dish and must be pitted before incorporated.
• Water – Water will be used to cook with the dates till they’re soft, dry dates fresh from the package won’t blend properly.
• Butter – Be sure it’s unsalted as we want to control the amount of salt in this dessert.
• Brown sugar – Brown sugar is best as it’ll give the pudding a depth of flavor with molasses and caramel notes. If white sugar is all you have on hand that will work just fine as we will be adding molasses later.
• Eggs – The binding agent in this dessert.
• Golden syrup – Also known as light treacle, golden syrup has a toasty note that lends itself well to rich cakes. It can be found in the baking aisle.
• Molasses – If you have a carton of this hanging around in your cupboard after making my Gingerbread Loaf, this recipe is the perfect way to use the rest of it up. A cup of molasses converts to ¾ cup of packed brown sugar, so that substitution is available if you don’t have molasses on hand.
• Flour – I used all purpose flour for this dessert.
• Baking soda – The leavening agent in this dessert that will give volume to your cake.
• Baking powder – As this recipe is so rich we need some extra leavening, make sure your baking powder is fresh.
• Salt – Be sure to include the salt in this recipe to balance out all the sweet flavors being included.

Sauce

• Butter – You can actually use salted butter here since we’re not adding any additional salt, if you only have unsalted butter, go ahead and add a pinch of salt to the sauce.
• Brown sugar – We will melt down the butter with brown sugar to give our syrupy sauce a base.
• Golden syrup – Golden syrup will carry those toasty notes from our cake through to our sauce.
• Molasses – Our last sweet addition, those molasses notes will help create a cohesive dish.
• Whipping cream – We want a high fat content for the cream we use so that our toffee sauce is rich and buttery. You can also use heavy cream.

Cake

1. Prepare your oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F degrees and generously spray an 8×8-inch square cake pan. A Bundt pan will work just fine if that’s all you have on hand.
2. Prepare the wet ingredients. First start by cooking the dates with water until they soften, you’ll do this by bringing the two to a boil in a saucepan. Allow the date mixture to cool somewhat before adding them to a food processor or blender and pulsing till it’s smooth. In a separate bowl whisk the melted butter with the brown sugar until combined, incorporate the eggs and whisk once more gently. Finally whisk in the date mixture, molasses, and golden syrup until smooth.
3. Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4. Prepare the cake. Whisk just half the flour mixture into your wet ingredients and whisk until fully incorporated, then add the rest and mix till smooth. This can also be done using a stand mixer or hand mixer. Ensure there are no lumps in your batter. Transfer your batter to the prepared cake pan and bake for 35 minutes or until done.

Sticky Toffee Sauce

1. Make the sauce. While the cake is baking add brown sugar, butter, molasses, and golden syrup to a sauce pan. Stir constantly as the butter melts. Cook until everything is fully incorporated, then whisk in the whipping cream.
2. Finish the sticky toffee pudding. While the cake is still warm, remove from the cake pan and cut into 9 squares. Pour lots of sauce over top and serve.

What Is Sticky Toffee Pudding?

Sticky Toffee Pudding is a British dessert that’s so comforting and satisfying.  It’s a very moist sponge cake made with sweet, soft dates and covered in a sticky toffee sauce. It’s been on the dessert lists of many restaurants, and it’s one of my favorite desserts to order. But now you can make it right at home. At least that way you can lick the plate clean, I promise not to judge, seeing as I’ll probably be doing the same thing.

Storing Your Cake

Be sure the cake is fully cooled before storing. Sealed in an airtight container this recipe will last 5 to 6 days. Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil, this cake recipe will last up to 3 months in the freezer. Be sure to defrost fully when ready to eat and warm in an oven turned on low for 15 minutes. The sauce can be made in advance in stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.

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