Sticky’s Toffee Pudding
I am 37 weeks pregnant and aiming to eat at least 3 medjool dates a day in preparation for labor. I wanted to bake something delicious that just happened to use dates as part of the recipe, and sticky toffee pudding was perfect. My husband is half English so he loves sticky toffee pudding and said this one is the best he’s ever had. We call it Sticky’s toffee pudding in honor of our little Dutch bunny, Sticky (: So deeply flavorful and gets perfectly gooey while maintaining a nice light springy sponge cake texture. It’s perfect hot out of the oven with ice cream and even cold the next day without reheating.
Ingredients
Cake:
1 and 1/2 cups pitted medjool dates
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup boiling water
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, use the paper wrapping to grease the baking pan
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar - must be dark to get the molasses flavor
2 tablespoons Lyle’s golden syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Sauce:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease an 8 x 8-inch metal pan with butter.
Mix the 1 and 1/2 cups pitted medjool dates with 1 teaspoon baking soda and pour the 1 cup of hot water over to soak for at least 10 minutes. In the meantime, prep the other wet ingredients.
In a stand mixer, beat the 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 large eggs, 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons Lyle’s golden syrup, and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
Blend the date mixture until it’s mostly smooth. It won’t be perfectly homogenous and don’t worry if there are some chunks. These will bake nicely and add some fun texture. Add to the wet ingredients and beat until incorporated.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients of 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. Stir to combine.
On low speed, incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet to make the cake batter. Stop right when it’s combined to avoid overmixing.
Pour into the baking pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, and prep the sauce in the meantime.
Sauce:
In a pot or saucepan on low to medium heat, combine the 1 stick unsalted butter, 1 cup packed dark brown sugar, 1 cup heavy cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until the butter and sugar are all melted and the sauce resembles a glossy thin caramel. Set aside until ready to pour over the cake.
When the middle of the cake is mostly set and a chopstick inserted comes out mostly clean, pour the sauce over and bake for ~5 more minutes.
Once it’s out of the oven, you can enjoy it almost immediately with some delicious ice cream, cream, milk, or as is!
