This sticky toffee pudding is decadent, rich in flavor, spiced to Christmassy perfection and perfectly moist (please don’t stop reading because I used the word moist!)
Sticky Toffee Pudding–where to begin. Let’s just call this what it is: a love affair. If you’ve never tried sticky toffee pudding before, I promise you, your life is about to change. This British classic has a cake base made with dates a.k.a nature’s candy, and is topped with a warm toffee sauce. Have you caught the vision yet?
Honestly it’s so good I’m going to keep this part of the blog post short so you can just get to baking!
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I had a ton of fun (arguably a little too much) making this recipe. Along the way I discovered a few tips and tricks that will help you get the best results.
- Make sure to pit the dates, or buy pitted dates! I’m all about saving some time so I buy pitted dates for this recipe!
- Roughly chop the dates. When you soak the dates and add baking soda to them, they will break down into something that resembles a puree. There will still be chunks of dates in the final result, and that is more than okay! In fact I love the added texture that the dates provide.
- Add the baking soda to the soaked and simmering dates. The chemical reaction of the baking soda with the hot water in which the dates are simmering causes it to foam up and creates a wonderful texture for the cake later on. Plus you feel like a mad scientist and it’s really fun!
- Add warm date mixture a little at a time. Once your cake batter is ready and it’s time to add the warm dates to the batter, add in a little of the warm date mix first so as to not overwhelm the batter with warm mix. The main idea here is to not scramble the eggs that are in the cake batter. That’s not the goal my friends!
- This bake is low and slow. There is a ton of moisture in this batter so in order for it to bake properly we will set the oven to a low temperature and bake it for longer.
This is a British classic dessert so I must mention that I have deviated a bit from the traditional way of making it, mainly because some ingredients are just less accessible to us here on this side of the pond.
- Traditionally Sticky Toffee Pudding is served in individual ramekins and you would have to turn out each little pudding to pour the toffee sauce and serve. I have chosen to bake my recipe all in one 9×13 inch pan for convenience. Plus then you control how big or small your piece is, ya feel me??
- Black Treacle is usually one of the main ingredients for this recipe, however I have chosen to use molasses. Molasses is slightly more bitter than black treacle so I have adjusted the brown sugar accordingly.
- I’ve replaced golden syrup with honey in this recipe mainly because golden syrup is less commonly used here in the U.S and therefore less accessible. Plus honey is just a little bit healthier… not that that really matters in this toffee-sauce-bathed recipe!
Worth. The. Calories. Do you hear me??
- All purpose flour instead of self-rising flour. This choice I made because when I was writing the recipe, I didn’t have any self-rising flour and I just didn’t feel like going to the store. Then I thought, I bet my readers are more likely to have all-purpose flour too. And thus the internal “should I stop being lazy and drive to the store to use the traditional self-rising flour” debate was settled. Rising agents have been adjusted accordingly to get you a good rise on this guy.
- Serve with whipped cream. Traditionally Sticky Toffee Pudding is served with a vanilla custard or ice cream, and who am I to stop you from doing that?! I chose to serve mine with a light and fluffy homemade whipped cream, anything light and cream based pairs very well with this dessert!
Okay, I’m done here. Stop reading, start baking. Anddd GO!
Be sure to comment and let me know what you think once you bake it. Also tag me on Instagram @karisscorner with your photos of the Sticky Toffee Pudding, or the empty pan because you ate it all, I don’t judge!
Can baking be therapeutic?
I often talk about baking being a therapeutic hobby but I’d like to share more about why I feel that way as well as how it can become a relaxing hobby for you!
When I bake, it’s my creative time. I may put on my favorite nostalgic movie or tv show in the background, or a Spotify playlist titled “French café” and leave my troubles behind.
Sometimes I pour myself a glass of wine and light a candle. Then, with the mood set, the mixing of batter, kneading of dough and smoothing of icing is my only care in the world.
When I say baking is therapeutic, sometimes people respond saying “not for me it isn’t!” I completely understand why someone might feel that way. There have been plenty of times where I spend hours on something only for it to fail or something breaks that shouldn’t or I forget to clean as I go and am left with a disastrous kitchen to clean.
So I should in reality, have a caveat to my “baking as therapy” claims…
Baking is therapy when you curate the experience to be relaxing.
How do you curate that relaxing experience for yourself, you ask?
How to make baking therapeutic…
- Prepare your mind–know that it’s okay if the cake doesn’t rise, or the butter wasn’t chilled enough. Shift your mindset from seeing your failures as mistakes to seeing them as opportunities for learning.
- Prepare your space–I cannot and will not bake on top of a messy kitchen. If I were to do this I would be starting from a place of stress! Take an extra 10 minutes to clean any dishes in the sink and wipe down the counters, this small effort will pay you back greatly in brain space and clarity.
- Clean as you go! I’ll tell you the one way to make baking stressful and tiresome, is to not clean as you go! After I use each ingredient that I no longer need, I put it away.
After each major step in the process, I wipe down the counters and put dishes that are no longer needed in the sink. If there is chill time or baking time I don’t sit, I do the cleaning then. Make this shift and you’ll really notice the difference!
By the way, this last tip really helped me when I was on The Great American Baking Show–and the crew that cleaned up behind us made a point to tell me that my workspace was always so clean they didn’t have much to do!
I would reply by saying “it’s how I stay sane in this tent!”
Additional suggestions:
*Maybe try printing off the recipe instead of looking at it on your phone, tablet or laptop and use this time to unplug from technology for a few hours
**Invite friends or family over to share your creation with you. Time spent with loved ones over food is a universally special experience
And that’s how I discovered baking for my mental health. If you try any of these suggestions, let me know how it went for you! I’m really invested in spreading this message to others in hopes that baking will enhance your lives more than it already does!
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Sticky Toffee PuddingYield: 12-16 servings Prep Time: 25 minutes Baking Time: 45-50 minutes Total Time: 1 hr 15 minutes max |
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 1 stick butter
- 3/4 c light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 heaping c all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 c (about 10) chopped pitted medjool dates
- 2 tsp baking soda
For the sauce:
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 3/4 c brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 2/3 c heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Small pinch of salt
Instructions:
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 320oF, spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Roughly chop (about 10) large medjool dates into small pieces and place in a 1 cup measuring cup, then set aside.
- In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together ½ cup (1 stick) butter and ¾ cup light brown sugar for about 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the 2 eggs, 1 Tbsp molasses, 1 Tbsp honey and 1 tsp vanilla extract to the creamed butter and sugar mixture and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.
- Add 1 heaping cup of all-purpose flour and 2 tsp of baking powder and mix on low until no streaks of flour are left. Be sure not to overmix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and set the bowl aside.
- Bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of roughly chopped dates to a simmer in a saucepan. After about 3-4 minutes of simmering, the dates should be softened. At this point add 2 tsp of baking soda and mix until combined. Careful, it will bubble up.
- Add a small amount of the warm date mixture to the cake batter and mix well. Then add the remaining date mixture and stir with a spatula until fully combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (or with a few crumbs).
- Once baked, allow the cake to cool slightly. However, you’ll want to pour the toffee sauce onto the cake while everything is still warm.
For the sauce:
- Towards the end of the cake baking (the last 10 minutes or so) prepare the sticky toffee sauce by adding ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, ¾ cup light brown sugar, 2 Tbsp honey, 1 Tbsp molasses and 1 tsp vanilla extract to a saucepan and bring to a light boil.
- Stir occasionally to make sure all sugar has dissolved. After about 1-2 minutes stir in ⅔ cup of heavy cream and a pinch of salt.
For the assembly:
- Pour warm sauce over warm sticky toffee pudding leaving about 1/2 of the sauce in the pot to serve with the individual slices. Top with whipped cream and extra sauce and enjoy!
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