Best Sticky Toffee Pudding
A traditional British dessert, tasting of warm buttery spices with a moist date texture made to purr with the addition of toffee sauce!
On sampling this dessert of British/Irish origin, as memory serves, I was the one in our family that first prepared it, tapping into traditional recipes of my ancestors. Being a devotee of the date, but skeptical of the fig, ultimately, we changed the words of the familiar Christmas carol to “now bring us some figgy pudding” to “sticky toffee pudding” which though it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, the flavors certainly rest most pleasantly there.
If you or your guests are not fans of the date, not to worry, as these moist pudding cakes owe their luscious texture and depth of flavor to the dates and may even convert you to date-inspired treats! If you are already an admirer of dates - think date bread - this is a recipe you will want to add to your collection!
The dates are steeped until soft and add a sweet moist component to what we’d call cake. Now British terminology can be confusing. We make a clear distinction between cake and pudding or “puds” as Brits nickname it. The British also recognize cake as a legitimate sweet. Thus the confusion. We would call this sweet a date cake, but the Brits got first dibs on the name, as they created it after all. Thus the name “Sticky Toffee” referring to the sauce, its crowning glory (a sauce which we might call caramel or butterscotch) but toffee is more fun to say….so enough said!
Two of my daughters are big fans and searched for the best and most authentic recipe and it is a lovely one - I just wanted more moisture in the “pud”. So this recipe is the result and the technique of infusing more of the toffee sauce into the cake did the trick for me.
Date-lovers, you won’t care what it’s called and non-daters, I bet you can’t eat just one bite!
sticky toffee pudding
FOR PUDDING/CAKE:
1 1/3 cups packed pitted dates (about 8 ounces)
2 cups water
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated, white sugar
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) butter, softened
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
FOR TOFFEE SAUCE
1 3/4 sticks (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) butter
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt
TO MAKE TOFFEE SAUCE:
In a 2-quart heavy saucepan melt butter over moderate heat and add brown sugar. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, then stir in cream and vanilla. Simmer sauce, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in salt then cool to warm.
TO MAKE PUDDING/CAKE:
-Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan (2 inches deep).
-Coarsely chop dates and place in a 2-quart saucepan then simmer dates in water, uncovered, 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, cover with lid and allow to cool for about 30 minutes.
-In a large mixing bowl, mix butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg one at a time, beating well after each addition.
-Stir in flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. until just combined. Add date mixture and vanilla extract and stir with wooden spoon until just combined well.
-Pour batter into prepared baking pan and set pan in a larger baking pan. Add enough hot water to larger pan to reach halfway up sides of smaller pan to create a bain-marie or water bath, then bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, 30 - 35 minutes.
-Carefully prick the entire surface of the cake with a fork. Then pour half the toffee sauce evenly over the top of pudding and allow sauce to soak in for a minute or two. Close the oven door and continue cooking another 5 minutes, until the toffee sauce begins to bubble. Remove from oven. Remove cake pan from Bain-Marie (water bath) and allow to cool. (Pudding is best served still slightly warm.)
-To serve, cut cake into squares or cut out with 2-3 inch round cutter for a more elegant plating and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipping cream and additional toffee sauce on the side. Serves 6 - 8
Prepare simple toffee sauce for pudding/cake.
Serve puddings with vanilla ice cream and extra toffee sauce.
PERSNICKETY NOTES:
**Traditionally there is no cinnamon or nutmeg included in this cake/pud so leave those out if you want to be more authentic, but oh, how we Americans love those spices!
**Chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) add a great texture to the cake as well, if you are also a nut fan!
