Sticky Toffee Pudding is the ultimate comfort dessert, warm, gooey, and absolutely indulgent. This soft, sponge-like cake, packed with sweet dates, bakes to perfection and is drenched in rich, buttery toffee sauce for pure bliss in every bite. Top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream, and watch it melt into the warm pudding, it’s dessert heaven! Perfect for holidays or chilly nights, it’s a sweet treat you’ll want to make again and again.
Sticky Toffee Pudding has come a long way from its old-school steamed origins, and I couldn’t be happier. Baking this dessert gives it crisp edges and a perfect texture, making it a treat you’ll fall in love with from the first bite. The soft, moist pudding is packed with sweet dates and drenched in buttery toffee sauce, creating a rich, melt-in-your-mouth experience. It’s the kind of dessert that’s as comforting on a cozy night as it is impressive on a festive table.
This classic British dessert, created in northwest England, is loved around the world for its unbeatable combination of tender sponge and sweet, sticky sauce. The dates not only add natural sweetness but also keep the pudding moist and give it a deep, rich color. Served warm, it’s perfect with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Pouring extra sauce over the top right out of the oven is the secret to making it truly unforgettable, it’s pure indulgence in every bite.
Whether baked as a single pudding or in muffin tins for individual portions, Sticky Toffee Pudding is easy to make and impossible to resist. The rich toffee sauce seeps into the pudding, making every spoonful a heavenly mix of flavors and textures. Even if dates aren’t your favorite, don’t worry, you won’t taste them much, but they do all the magic behind the scenes. Once you try it, this dessert will quickly become a favorite to make, share, and enjoy again and again!
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⭐Why You'll Love This Sticky Toffee Pudding
- Cozy and Comforting: Warm sticky toffee pudding is the ultimate treat for chilly or rainy days.
- Just the Way You Like It: Adjust the sweetness with your favorite toppings and the perfect balance of toffee sauce.
- Easy to Prepare Ahead: Make the pudding and sauce in advance, then reheat for a simple but impressive dessert.
- A Special Occasion Star: With its rich flavors and beautiful look, it’s perfect for holidays, dinner parties, or family get-togethers.
🧾Sticky Toffee Pudding Ingredients
Here’s the breakdown of what’s in this sticky toffee pudding recipe:
For the Pudding:
- Dates: These bring natural sweetness and a caramel-like flavor, along with a soft, chewy texture that makes the pudding moist and delicious.
- Boiling Water: Softens the dates, making them easier to mash and blending their sweetness into the batter.
- Butter: Adds a rich, creamy flavor and keeps the pudding tender and moist.
- Dark Muscovado Sugar: This sugar gives a deep, toffee-like flavor and keeps the pudding soft and flavorful.
- Eggs: They hold everything together and help the pudding rise, adding a lovely richness.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds a warm, sweet touch that pairs perfectly with the caramel and toffee flavors.
- Black Treacle: Deepens the flavor with a rich molasses note, giving the pudding its dark color and a hint of bitterness.
- Self-Raising Flour: Helps the pudding rise and keeps it fluffy and soft.
- Bicarbonate of Soda: Works with the dates and treacle to make the pudding light and tender.
- Whole Milk: Adds just the right amount of moisture to keep the batter smooth and balanced.
For the Toffee Sauce:
- Dark Muscovado Sugar: The key to that rich caramel flavor and glossy, sticky texture.
- Unsalted Butter: Makes the sauce silky and creamy, balancing the sweetness beautifully.
- Double Cream: Adds a luxurious, smooth consistency and mellows out the sweetness.
- Black Treacle: Adds depth and a slightly bitter edge, making the sauce richer and more complex.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
👩🏻🍳How to Make Sticky Toffee Pudding
These step-by-step instructions and photos will help you to visualize how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for a printable version of this recipe.
1. Soak the chopped dates in hot water for around 30 minutes.
2. Use a hand mixer to beat together the butter and dark muscovado sugar until it's light, creamy, and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one by one, add vanilla extract and black treacle, and mix everything thoroughly.
4. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with flour, and put in half quantity of the flour and milk, and give it a good stir.
5. Pour in the remaining flour and milk, then stir until you have a smooth batter.
6. Use a fork to mash the softened dates into a rough pulp.
7. Put the mashed date pulp into the batter and stir it well until everything is combined.
8. Pour the batter into the greased pudding moulds. Bake in the preheated oven at 170°C (338°F) or 150°C (302°F) with a fan for about 50 minutes.
9. In a saucepan melt the dark muscovado sugar, unsalted butter, and half of the double cream. Keep stirring until the sugar dissolves completely.
10. Add the black treacle to the sauce and stir continuously for 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens a bit and gets a rich toffee color.
11. Remove the saucepan from the heat, pour in the remaining cream, and mix well until everything is combined.
12. Drizzle half of the toffee sauce over the pudding. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes so that it can soak in.
💭Tips for Recipe Success
Fresh Dates: If your dates are fresh, make sure they're soft and juicy. If they're dried, give them a cozy soak in hot water to get them all nice and soft before mixing them in.
Soaking Dates: When soaking dates in boiling water, be patient! Give them enough time to get soft and soak up all the yummy liquid. This makes your pudding sweet and moist.
Room Temperature Ingredients: Let your eggs and butter chill out at room temperature before you use them. It makes everything mix together smoothly and makes your batter extra nice.
Creaming Butter and Sugar: Whip up your butter and sugar until it's super light and fluffy. This step is important for making your pudding all airy and wonderful.
Balancing Sweetness: Taste your batter before you bake it. If it needs more sweetness, add a bit more sugar or treacle to make it just right for your taste buds.
Baking Time: Keep an eye on your pudding while it's baking. Too much time in the oven can make it dry. Follow the suggested baking time and poke it with a toothpick or skewer to check if it's ready.
Cooling Time: Let your pudding cool for a little bit before taking it out of the pan. This helps it set and makes it easy to pop out.
Toffee Sauce Perfection: If your toffee sauce needs a change, add more cream to make it runnier or simmer it a bit longer for a thicker sauce. It's all about finding the right consistency.
🍮More Pudding Recipes to Try!
If you're loving this sticky toffee pudding, you'll also adore these pudding recipes:
🍛More Dessert Recipes!
Here are more of my favorite dessert recipes! Try these:
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📖 Recipe
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients
For the Pudding:
- 160 g Whole Dates - Stoned
- 150 ml Boiling Water
- 90 g Butter
- 150 g Dark Muscovado Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 tablespoon Black Treacle
- 175 g Self-raising Flour
- 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
- 100 ml Whole Milk
- 20 g Butter
For the Toffee Sauce:
- 225 g Dark Muscovado Sugar
- 100 g Unsalted Butter
- 275 ml Heavy Cream
- 1 tablespoon Black Treacle
Instructions
- Chop the dates and place them in a small bowl.
- Pour the boiling water over the chopped dates and let them soak for about 30 minutes until the dates are soft.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, cream the butter and dark muscovado sugar with a hand-electric mixer until light, creamy and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well before adding the next, then add the vanilla extract and black treacle. Mix well.
- Add the bicarbonate of soda into the flour and mix well until combined.
- Add half the quantity of flour and milk and stir.
- Pour the rest of the flour and milk and stir until you have a smooth batter.
- Mash the softened dates with a folk to a rough pulp.
- Add the date pulp into the batter and stir well until combined.
- Grease pudding moulds with butter.
- Pour the batter into the greased pudding moulds and bake in the preheated oven at 170 °C(338°F) or 150°C(302°F) with a fan for about 50 minutes until the pudding is risen and firm or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- While the pudding is baking, prepare the toffee sauce. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the dark muscovado sugar, unsalted butter, and half quantity of the heavy cream. Stir continuously until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add black treacle and stir continuously for 2-3 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly and has a rich toffee colour.
- Take the saucepan off the heat, pour the rest of the heavy cream and mix well until combined. Keep warm.
- Once the pudding is done baking, leave the pudding to cool for 10 minutes, and then poke holes in it with a skewer.
- Pour over half the toffee sauce. Let it sit for 10 minutes to soak in.
- Serve the Sticky Toffee Pudding warm, drizzled with extra toffee sauce and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an extra treat.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Sandra says
This is one of my favorite British classic desserts specially after a nice lunch, your recipe looks amazing thanks