Sticky Toffee Pudding

★★★★4.9· 876 ratings

·Serves 8

About this Dish

A warm, dense sponge made with finely chopped dates, drenched in toffee sauce and served with clotted cream or vanilla ice cream. Invented in the Lake District in the 1970s. The dates keep the sponge extraordinarily moist and give it a deep caramel flavour even before the sauce is added.

IngredientsServes 8

🌴Medjool dates, 200g pitted and finely chopped

💧Boiling water, 175ml

🧈Unsalted butter, 85g softened, plus extra for greasing

🍚Dark muscovado sugar, 175g

🥚Large eggs, 2 beaten

🌾Self-raising flour, 175g sifted

🥄Bicarbonate of soda, 1 tsp

🍦Double cream, 200ml (for the toffee sauce)

🍬Dark brown soft sugar, 200g (for the toffee sauce)

🧈Unsalted butter, 100g (for the toffee sauce)

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and grease a deep 20cm square baking dish with butter. Put the chopped dates into a bowl, sprinkle over the bicarbonate of soda, then pour over the boiling water and leave to soak for 10 minutes — the dates will soften and the mixture will turn dark and jammy.

Beat the softened butter and muscovado sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the beaten eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then gently fold in the sifted flour until just combined.

Stir the soaked date mixture (liquid and all) into the batter and mix until evenly combined — don't worry if it looks a little loose. Pour into your prepared dish and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the sponge is risen, firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clean.

While the pudding bakes, make the toffee sauce by combining the butter, dark brown sugar and double cream in a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir continuously until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, then let it bubble gently for 3-4 minutes until you have a glossy, thick sauce.

Once the sponge is out of the oven, poke it all over with a skewer and pour about a third of the warm toffee sauce over the top, letting it soak in for 5 minutes. This is the secret to an incredibly sticky, moist pudding — don't skip this step.

Serve generous portions of the pudding in warm bowls, spooning extra toffee sauce generously over each one. Finish with a big dollop of clotted cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside, and watch it melt beautifully into the sauce.

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