Sticky Toffee Date Pudding

Name: Sticky Toffee Date Pudding
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Ingredients: 80 gm Butter; 50 gm Dark brown sugar; 30 gm Treacle; 2 Eggs; 160 gm Flour; 1 tsp Baking powder; 1 tsp Vanilla Pinch of Salt; 250 gm Dates; 15 gm Coffee powder; 250 ml Boiling hot water; 1 tsp Baking soda; 200 gm Dark brown sugar; 100 gm Light brown sugar; 150 gm Butter; 15 gm Treacle; 150 ml Whipping cream

A pudding that is a great center attraction at the dinner table but vey indulgent, saucy and delicious to say the least. Served warm with more toffee sauce and double cream this recipe makes for an easy yummy treat.

I remember first having sticky toffee date pudding at a restaurant at the end of a meal and couldn’t believe how scrumptious and tasty the pudding was. The meal at the restaurant wasn’t very good so the pudding definitely stood out making up for the disaster. In culinary school I learned to make this pudding professionally which was such a joy as I could now make it for myself. However, as yummy as it was; I felt I could do it more justice.

Now, what is a sticky toffee date pudding? It is a pudding that includes a date puree which not only adds sweetness but a very treacle like color and taste to the entire dessert. The addition of toffee sauce isn’t just an add-on element – it makes for a delicious accompaniment to the entire ensemble. I must admit I like to bake the pudding with a little sauce on the top. This allows it to form a sugar crust on the surface and seep into the pudding making it softer and more fluffy.

This pudding is warm, saucy, indulgent and definitely not something you would eat on a daily basis. However, with me channeling Fall/Autumn I am here to make sure this fits that description. In saying this I got my hands on some really good dates, in UAE you don’t need to worry about finding dates as they are raining from the sky but these dates are deeply intense in flave, you can check them out here.

The ingredients for the recipe aren’t fancy but the dates might be the only ingredient you need to source for them. There is no substitute for them and they are an essential part of the recipe. If you don’t have dates, please don’t make this recipe. I like using dark brown sugar and treacle here as it adds a deep earthy note to the entire pudding. The toffee sauce is a basic recipe that you can use over ice cream as well. It stores well in the fridge for over a week in a glass jar.

There are a ton of substitutes that can be adjusted within this recipe though:

Flour & GF Options – I used all purpose flour here you can use cake flour, self raising flour, almond flour, gluten free flour mix.

Dark Brown Sugar – I like the taste of it here, you can use light brown sugar here or muscavado sugar as well.

Treacle – It really does add an element of flavor, you can use molasses, dark brown corn syrup, golden syrup or honey. The later two options will affect the color and taste but not the texture.

Butter – I used unsalted butter here you can use salted or any vegan butter spread as well. You cannot use oil.

Coffee – I like the caramel flavor it adds to the pudding you can leave it out it you like.

Whipping cream – The toffee sauce uses double cream or whipping cream and I wouldn’t recommend using any other cream here. You could use vegan whipping cream or coconut cream but it will change the flavor of the sauce.

Eggs – If you want to make this recipe eggless, ensure you replace one egg with 2 tbsp full fat yogurt or a flax seed egg.

Baking – The pudding can be baked in the oven at 180℃ for 30-35 mins until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs. Also, I then like to pour over half the sauce and bake it again for 2-3 mins.

*Steaming – This pudding can be steamed over the stove with a large stock pot, however it will take 45-50 mins to cook all the way on a medium to low heat.

Once the pudding is ready, pierce holes into the surface and pour over more toffee sauce, leaving some behind for serving. The pudding store well int he fridge for 1 week or portioned into pieces and frozen for 1 month. When ready to eat warm it in the microwave and serve with ore toffee sauce and whipping cream. My mom likes it with vanilla ice cream.

I think I have cleared it up, if you got any doubts, feel free to reach out to me in the comments. Happy Baking Ninjas!