I made this sticky toffee pudding with dates, and it's one of those timeless desserts that feels extra special warm from the oven. The soft sponge soaks up the glossy toffee sauce, turning into a cozy classic I love making again and again.
I've enjoyed sticky toffee pudding in restaurants many times, but once I started baking it at home, I realized just how simple it really is. With only a handful of ingredients, it comes together easily, and I like using dates for their natural sweetness and depth of flavor. You can even bake it in individual moulds if you want mini sticky toffee puddings.
What I love most about this homemade sticky toffee pudding recipe is how well it works for entertaining, you can prepare it ahead of time, then just reheat the sponge and warm the sauce before serving. My version of sticky toffee pudding with dates has become a go-to dessert for Sunday dinners and holiday gatherings, and it never disappoints.
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⭐Why You'll Love My Recipe
- Easy to Prepare Ahead: Make the pudding and sauce in advance, then reheat for a simple but impressive dessert.
- Comforting Dessert: Warm sticky toffee pudding with dates is the ultimate treat.
🧾Sticky Toffee Pudding Ingredients
You'll find the exact measurements in the recipe card, but here's a closer look at a few of the ingredients and why I use them.
- Dates & Boiling Water: I like to let the dates soak until really soft, because it makes the sponge extra moist and gives it that classic sticky texture.
- Butter, Dark Muscovado Sugar & Eggs: This is my favorite base combination, the sugar brings a deep caramel flavor that makes the pudding taste so rich.
- Flour, Bicarbonate of Soda & Milk: I mix these in gently to keep the sponge light, which balances the sweetness from the dates and sauce.
- Toffee Sauce: For me, the sauce is the best part, muscovado sugar, cream, and black treacle melt together into a glossy topping I always pour generously.
👩🏻🍳How to Make Sticky Toffee Pudding
You can find the complete printable recipe with measurements below, but for now, here's a quick overview of how it goes:
1. Soak the chopped dates in hot water for 30 minutes, then mash into a rough pulp.
2. Beat butter and dark muscovado sugar with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs one at a time, then mix in vanilla extract and black treacle.
4. Combine flour with bicarbonate of soda, then stir in half the flour and milk.
5. Add the remaining flour and milk, mixing until smooth, then fold in the mashed dates.
6. Pour the batter into greased pudding moulds and bake at 170°C (338°F) or 150°C (302°F fan) for about 50 minutes.
7. For the sauce, heat butter, muscovado sugar, and half the cream in a saucepan until dissolved, then stir in the black treacle and cook until thickened.
8. Remove from heat, stir in the remaining cream, and drizzle half the sauce over the warm pudding. Let sit 10 minutes before enjoying sticky toffee pudding.
💭My Tips for Recipe Success
Serve it Warm: I like serving this sticky toffee pudding warm because the sauce soaks in better and makes every bite soft and gooey.
Make Ahead Friendly: When I'm short on time, I bake the puddings the day before and just reheat them gently with the sauce, it tastes just as fresh.
Store Leftovers Right: I keep any leftover pudding in an airtight container in the fridge, then warm slices gently in the microwave or oven with a little extra sauce.
🍮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 with Dates
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 bowl. Pour over the boiling water and let them soak for 30 minutes until soft.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and muscovado sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla and black treacle.
- Stir the bicarbonate of soda into the flour. Add half the flour and half the milk to the bowl and mix gently.
- Add the remaining flour and milk, stirring until smooth.
- Mash the softened dates into a rough pulp and fold them into the batter.
- Grease pudding moulds with butter and spoon in the mixture.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 338°F (170°C) or 302°F (150°C) fan for 50 minutes, until risen and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce by melting muscovado sugar, butter, and half the cream in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until dissolved.
- Add the black treacle and cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened and glossy. Remove from the heat, pour in the remaining cream, and stir until smooth.
- Cool the pudding for 10 minutes, then poke holes with a skewer and pour over half the sauce. Let it soak for 10 minutes.
- Serve warm with the rest of the toffee sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you like.
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