Sticky Toffee Pudding
Who doesn’t like sticky toffee pudding? I don’t often order dessert and when I do it is usually something light and fresh with citrus or berries, but put sticky toffee on a menu and I won’t be able to walk past it.
I have great news for you – it may seem impressive and effortful, but it is actually incredibly easy to make. You can also make it in advance and reheat it, so it is a good choice for dinner parties.
This recipe is an amalgamation of all the best bits of all the best ones I could find. I have Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen to thank for the addition of sea salt flakes to finish it off – a fabulous addition for fans of salted caramel.
While we're talking about condiments, can I just say that I think caramel or butterscotch ice cream with sticky toffee pudding is an abomination? It's got to be vanilla all the way! It's already a dessert verging on the sickly sweet, so something cool and fresh is what you need. Pouring or clotted cream also tick these boxes.
Makes approximately 9 portions.
Ingredients
170g dates, de-stoned and roughly chopped
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
250ml boiling water
60g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing, room temperature
160g muscovado sugar
2 eggs
175g flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
50ml whole milk
½ tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp date syrup or black treacle (optional)
For the sauce:
125g unsalted butter
100g muscovado sugar
100g golden caster sugar
175ml double cream
1 vanilla pod, split (optional)
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180C and grease a 20cm square baking tin with butter.
Put the chopped dates and bicarbonate soda in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Leave to one side to soften.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg.
Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and gently fold in with a spatula. Add a pinch of salt, the dates and their soaking liquid, the milk and the vanilla essence and stir until combined.
Pour into the greased baking tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
To make the sauce, put all the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let it reduce and thicken until it coats the back of a spoon. Remove the vanilla pod.
Pour a little sauce over the baked cake and put back in the oven for 2-3 minutes, allowing the sauce to soak in.
Serve with the rest of the warm toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream or double cream.
Reader Comments (1)
Lizzie loves sticky toffee puddings. Try it out on her