Sticky toffee pudding

A true British classic and one of the most beloved puddings in the UK. Sticky toffee pudding is a moist, rich date sponge served warm and drenched in a luscious toffee sauce. While the sponge itself is made with dates, the real essence of this dessert lies in the decadent toffee sauce and the vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or custard traditionally served alongside it. The pudding should be served warm, straight after baking, although it reheats beautifully and can be enjoyed over the following days. The sponge is sweet, moist and deliciously sticky, with a deep caramel-like flavour, yet remains surprisingly light and springy. Its flavour improves with time, it stays fresh for days and freezes exceptionally well. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t own traditional pudding moulds. I bought them because I knew I’d use them again, but you can easily use a muffin tin instead (the puddings will be slightly smaller and bake more quickly) or bake the mixture in a standard cake tin and cut it into squares afterwards. If baked as one large cake, you can even slice it horizontally and sandwich it with toffee sauce, allowing it to soak into the sponge for an even stickier result!

Makes 7 individual puddings.

Ingredients for the date sponge:

• 225 g dried dates, stoned
• 175 ml boiling water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 175 g plain flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
• 85 g butter
• 120 g soft brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons black treacle
• 100 ml milk

To serve:

• toffee sauce (recipe below)
• whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or custard

All ingredients should be at room temperature. Sift together the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and set aside.

Place the dates into a bowl and pour over the boiling water. Add the vanilla extract and leave to stand for 30 minutes. Blend the date mixture until smooth.

Grease and flour 7 pudding moulds, each with a capacity of approximately 200 ml.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the black treacle. Add the date purée and mix until combined (the mixture may appear slightly curdled at this stage). Fold in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, in three additions, mixing gently with a spatula until just combined. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared moulds, filling each about two-thirds full.

Bake at 160°C for 20–25 minutes, or until risen, springy and fully baked.

Ingredients for the toffee sauce:

• 220 g muscovado sugar
• 250 ml double cream
• 125 g butter

Place all the ingredients into a small saucepan. Stir together and bring to the boil over medium heat. Cook for approximately 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and set aside. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

Turn the warm puddings out onto serving plates. Generously pour over the warm toffee sauce and serve immediately with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or traditional custard.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food.