British
Sticky Toffee Pudding with Warm Brown Sugar Sauce
A warm date cake gets soaked with brown-sugar toffee sauce so each serving is plush, sticky, and deeply caramel-like.
Gluten-FreeDairy-FreeHigh CarbMake AheadBaking ProjectComfort FoodDessert
At a Glance
- Time
- 1 hr 20 mins
- Serves
- 10 to 12
- Cost
- Medium
- Cuisine
- British
- Dietary fit
- Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Vegetarian
Instructions
- Pour the boiling water over the dates, stir in the baking soda, and let the mixture soften until the dates are very tender. Mash or pulse them lightly so they blend into the batter.
- Cream 4 tablespoons of the butter with 6 tablespoons of the brown sugar, then beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Fold in the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and the softened dates with their liquid.
- Spread the batter into a buttered 8-inch square baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F until the cake springs back and a tester comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes.
- While the pudding bakes, simmer the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, remaining 6 tablespoons brown sugar, and heavy cream until smooth and slightly thickened. This becomes the warm toffee sauce.
- Serve the sticky toffee pudding warm with the sauce spooned generously over the top so it sinks into the cake. The crumb should stay soft and damp from the dates.
Adaptations
Easy Swap- Gluten-Free: Easy Swap Easy swap; see the adaptation note below.
- Dairy-Free: Easy Swap Easy swap; see the adaptation note below.
- Vegetarian: Vegetarian Vegetarian as written.
How to adapt: For gluten-free, substitute a 1:1 GF flour blend — the dates keep the crumb moist enough that GF results are close. For dairy-free, use vegan butter and full-fat coconut cream in the toffee sauce; the sauce will be slightly less rich but still very good.