This Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe is sure to impress your loved ones. The loaf tin method ensures a perfectly sized and easy-to-serve portion for each indulgent slice to serve with homemade toffee sauce and a scoop of ice cream or thick drizzle of custard.
200grams/ 7 ounces medjool datespits removed and roughly chopped
80milliliters/ ⅓ cup boiling water
130grams/ 4.6 ounces butterroom temperature
72grams/ ⅓ cup light brown sugar
72grams/ ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
110grams/ 2 large eggsroom temperature
1teaspoonvanilla extract
80grams/ ⅓ cup milk
240grams/ 1 ½ cups plain flour
5grams/ 1 teaspoon baking soda
4grams/ 1 teaspoon baking powder
½teaspoonsalt
Toffee sauce
75grams/ 2.65 ounces butter
110grams/ ½ cup brown sugar
43grams/ 2 tablespoons golden syrup
½teaspoonsea or kosher salt
227grams/ 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Sticky pudding loaf
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and lightly greaseproof a loaf tin.
Place the chopped dates into a bowl and top with the hot water. Set aside to soak for 20 minutes.
Beat the butter and sugars in a bowl until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
Add in the eggs and beat until well combined and smooth.
Blend the soaked dates and water until a paste forms.
Add the date paste, vanilla extract and milk and beat until just combined.
Sift the dry ingredients into a separate bowl and stir.
Add to the wet ingredients and fold until a cake batter is formed and smooth and no dry portions remain in your bowl.
Pour into your loaf tin and smooth out on top.
Bake until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean, approximately 55 minutes.
Invert onto your serving plate.
Toffee Sauce
Place the butter, brown sugar, salt and heavy cream into a saucepan on medium heat.
Simmer until the sugar has dissolved and butter melted, and it has thickened until it leaves a thick coating on the back of your spoon when you stir it, approximately 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and pour into your serving jug.
Pour the toffee sauce over your warm cake.
Slice and serve with a scoop of ice cream or a thick drizzle of vanilla custard and more warm sauce.
Enjoy!
Notes
Dates: We want soft and sticky medjool dates as they soften and blend easily. You could substitute with any other type of date you have on hand or could substitute with dried figs if you don't like the taste of dates.
Sugars: The use of light and dark brown sugar compliments the sweetness from the dates and adds a depth of flavor. You could substitute completely with only light or dark brown sugar though this will provide a different color to the loaf and/or sauce. Additionally, dark brown sugar has slightly more bitterness thanks to the extra molasses. Completely substituting with superfine or caster sugar would only add sweetness.
Golden syrup: A traditional ingredient readily found on UK shores, you could substitute with honey, agave syrup or brown rice syrup, if you prefer though.
Loaf tin: The loaf tin used here fits 1 kilo or 2 pounds.
Make ahead: The pudding loaf can be baked ahead and stored in an airtight container. When ready to serve, reheat the individual slices in the microwave or in the oven at 100C/210F for 10 minutes at serving time. Whilst warming up the toffee sauce on the stovetop. This way, you can enjoy a freshly warmed and gooey dessert without the hassle of preparing everything from scratch.
Baking into individual servings: If baking in a muffin tin or ramekins the baking time needs to be lowered to 12-15 minutes at the same temperature until a skewer comes out clean.
Serve with: Traditional options include pouring over the warm toffee sauce as per this recipe, serving with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or custard.