Sticky toffee pudding
Sticky toffee pudding is a moist British date cake served with warm caramel sauce. The dates are softened in hot water with baking soda, then incorporated into the batter; some of the sauce soaks into the cooked pudding while the rest is served on top.
Additional 15 min — resting and preparation
How to make it
Prepared 0 of 6 steps
Soften the dates
Check for pits and finely chop the pitted dates. Pour over 250 ml of boiling water, stir in baking soda, and let sit for 10 minutes. Then mash with a fork or briefly blend together with all the liquid.
Beat the base batter
Preheat the oven to 180 °C and line a 20 × 20 cm pan with parchment paper. Beat softened 90 g of butter with 120 g of brown sugar for 3–4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, along with 5 ml of vanilla extract, mixing well after each addition.
Mix the dough
Mix the flour, baking powder and 2 g salt. Fold into the butter mixture alternately with the warm date mixture, starting and finishing with the dry ingredients. Do not overbeat once the flour is added.
Bake the pudding
Transfer the batter to the pan and smooth out. Bake for 30–40 minutes: the surface should spring back, and a skewer inserted in the center should come out clean with a few moist crumbs. Do not overbake for a completely dry skewer.
Cook the toffee sauce
In a pan, combine remaining 60 g of butter, 180 g of sugar, cream and 1 g of salt. After boiling, simmer for 4–5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 5 ml of vanilla extract.
Soak and serve
Poke the warm baked cake in several places with a skewer and pour over about a third of the warm sauce. Rest for 15 minutes, cut into 8 portions and add the remaining sauce. Ice cream and nut toppings are not included.
Little hint
The dates should be mashed with the water: if you drain it, the batter will become drier and the ingredient ratio will change. Add the sauce warm but not scalding hot to make it easier to distribute evenly.
Frequently asked questions
What should I watch out for when cooking?
The dates should be mashed with the water: if you drain it, the batter will become drier and the ingredient ratio will change. Add the sauce warm but not scalding hot to make it easier to distribute evenly.
How should I prepare the ingredients?
Check for pits and finely chop the pitted dates. Pour over 250 ml of boiling water, stir in baking soda, and let sit for 10 minutes. Then mash with a fork or briefly blend together with all the liquid.
