Best Easy Sticky Toffee Pudding

To know it is to love it! Once you know how to make sticky toffee pudding, your dessert game will change. You will dream about variations. This classic British dessert will strike a chord of warmth and rich tradition. According to legend, it was created in a pub in northwest England. It is popular throughout Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It has at its core a moist, tender sponge cake sweetened with brown sugar and finely chopped or pureed dates. We use puree. The cake gets sandwiched between layers of creamy toffee sauce before it’s returned to the oven, then generously topped with more on the plate. The baked pudding is served with custard, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream to complement the rich sauce.

Here, our chef uses a super simple method to ensure the sauce is easy to make. The sauce uses dark corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk to ensure the rich caramel stays smooth and deepens the toffee flavor.  We enliven the cake’s flavor with a bit of almond extract.  We suggest serving the puddings with a generous amount of lightly sweetened whipped cream for contrast.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Active Time: 1 hr. 30 mins Total Time: 2 hrs. 20 mins Yield: 6 servings

Toffee Sauce

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces)

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 cup granulated sugar

Cake

¾ cup pitted dates (about 7-10 dates)

¾ cup water

1 ½ cup Panhandle Milling All Purpose Flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing ramekins

¾ cup packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

¼ tsp. almond extract

Vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving

Directions

• Gather the ingredients.
• Make the Toffee Sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine condensed milk with the butter, corn syrup, and sugar; bring to a boil.
• Cook over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until a deep amber caramel forms, about 30 minutes. Strain the sauce through a sieve into a bowl.
• In a small saucepan, simmer the dates in ¾ cup water over moderately low heat until the water is nearly absorbed and the dates are soft, about 15 minutes. Transfer the dates and any liquid to a food processor and puree until smooth.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter six 4-ounce ramekins. In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt.
• In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla, then beat in the date puree.
• At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients.
• Spoon the batter into the ramekins and smooth the tops.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes clean. Remove cakes and let cool slightly. Leave the oven on.
• Using a small, serrated knife, trim the tops of the cakes level with the rims of the ramekins.
• Unmold the cakes and invert them onto a wire rack. Slice each cake in half horizontally.
• Wipe out the ramekins and spoon 1 tablespoon of the toffee sauce into each. Return the bottom layers of the cakes to the ramekins, cut side up.
• Spoon another tablespoon of the toffee sauce into the ramekins and top with the remaining cake layers.
• Spoon another tablespoon of the toffee sauce over the cakes and spread evenly. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until the toffee bubbles around the edges.
• Let the puddings cool for 5 minutes, then run a thin-bladed knife around the insides of the ramekins; invert each pudding onto a dessert plate. Rewarm the remaining toffee sauce and spoon some around the puddings. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.