Sticky toffee pudding is rich and indulgent and combines delicious dates in a moist cake that's topped with the most amazing toffee sauce! It's a well-loved British dessert that's easy to make, delightfully tasty, slightly addictive, and definitely a treat! Plus, it is a perfect addition to your Christmas dessert table!
Easy Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe
Sticky toffee pudding, also called sticky date pudding, is truly one of the best desserts ever! It’s a super moist date cake that’s covered in an incredible toffee sauce and served warm. Pair it with a scoop of ice cream and you have an absolute winner on your hands!
My sticky toffee pudding recipe is not only amazingly delicious but also easy to make! It bakes up like a normal cake, and then my toffee sauce is superbly easy to throw together. Making a delectable, sweet indulgence has never been easier!
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Are you as much of a fan of British holiday desserts as I am? Check out my British Christmas Pudding or my traditional British Christmas cake!
Whether you're a pro at hosting Christmas dinner and holiday parties or giving it a try for the first time this year, you're sure to find my ultimate guide to planning Christmas a help! Don't forget to safely thaw your holiday prime rib early, too!
🌎 Origin
The origins of sticky toffee pudding are unclear and disputed, but it most likely originated in England in the 1970s. It takes after a long history of rich, moist “puddings” or cake-like desserts that are typically paired with a delicious, sweet sauce.
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
Sinfully Delicious! The buttery cake and sticky toffee sauce are so perfectly rich – serve with ice cream and this is a dessert like no other!
Perfect for the Holidays! The holiday season calls for warm, decadent desserts that will wow your family and friends – and this is no different!
Covered in Toffee Sauce! If you’re a toffee/caramel fan like me, you’ll love how this delicious cake soaks up all that buttery toffee sauce!
🥘 Sticky Toffee Pudding Ingredients
Sticky toffee pudding uses lots of dates—you can usually find those in the dried fruit & nut section of your grocery store! All of the other ingredients are fairly common baking staples!
Pudding
- Dates – 12 ounces of dates. These super sweet, dried fruits should be pitted! Medjool dates are preferred because they’re extra rich and provide so much moisture.
- Baking Soda – 1½ teaspoons of baking soda. This will help to soften the dates further.
- Water – ¾ cup of water. You want the water to be boiling hot to soak the dates, so they plump up and chop up nicely.
- Butter – 9 tablespoons of butter. The butter should be softened to room temperature for the best results! You’ll need 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon.
- Brown Sugar – 1⅛ cups of light brown sugar, packed. Brown sugar adds that delicious, molasses-like sweetness that pairs very well with the dates.
- Eggs – 3 large eggs. These should also be at room temperature for the best results when mixing.
- Baking Powder – 1½ teaspoons of baking powder. This is the main leavening agent for the pudding. Make sure not to mix up where to add the baking powder vs. baking soda!
- Salt – A pinch of salt. This will just balance the flavors of the pudding! You can use regular table salt for this.
- All-Purpose Flour – 1¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. This will give structure to the pudding, of course! I don’t recommend using self-rising flour here.
Toffee Sauce
- Butter – 1½ cups of unsalted butter. Any good toffee sauce needs butter! I like unsalted here, then adding a little salt at the end to control the flavor.
- Light Brown Sugar – 3 cups of packed light brown sugar. This helps make our toffee sauce extra sweet and rich. I prefer light brown sugar to dark brown sugar for this.
- Heavy Cream – ⅔ cup of heavy cream. Cream turns the caramel into more of a sauce! You want to use a heavy whipping cream instead of a lighter cream.
- Light Corn Syrup – ⅓ cup of light corn syrup. Corn syrup helps to prevent the toffee sauce from crystallizing and becoming grainy.
- Salt – A pinch of salt. Adding salt helps to balance the flavor and adds a sweet and salty edge to the toffee sauce.
- Vanilla Extract – 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. Adds a lovely sweetness to the toffee sauce! I love the way vanilla extract complements caramel sauce.
Ingredient Notes
You can add an equal amount of bourbon instead of vanilla if you want your toffee sauce to have a boozy bite! In fact, while I would max the vanilla out at 1 tablespoon, you can easily use up to 2-3 tablespoons of bourbon. Yum!
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Sticky Toffee Pudding
My indulgent sticky toffee pudding is a breeze to make! It only takes 20 minutes to prep this decadent dessert.
Perfect for Christmas, this recipe will make 18 servings so the whole family can enjoy it!
Mix and Bake the Date Pudding
- Prep the dates. Begin by combining 12 ounces of dates with 1½ teaspoons of baking soda and ¾ cup of boiling water in a heat-safe dish or mixing bowl. Submerge all the dates in the water, then set aside for 15 minutes to soften.
- Mix the batter. In the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, cream together 9 tablespoons of softened butter (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) and 1⅛ cups (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) until smooth and fluffy. Add 3 room-temperature eggs, 1 at a time, and mix until well combined. You can add 1 or 2 tablespoons of flour if needed to prevent the wet mix from becoming curdled and grainy.
- Add dry ingredients. Mix in 1½ teaspoons of baking powder and a pinch of salt, then mix in 1⅞ cups of all-purpose flour (1 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons) then mix until you have a smooth batter. Next, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and then grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan.
- Make the date paste. Using a food processor or immersion blender, puree the soaked date mixture until it reaches a fine consistency. When it reaches the desired texture, fold the puree into the pudding batter until the dates are evenly distributed.
- Bake. Transfer the pudding batter to your prepared baking dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick, cake tester, or butter knife come out clean. Remove from the oven and cool slightly while you make the toffee sauce.
Boil the English Toffee Sauce
- Make the toffee sauce. In a large saucepan, combine the ingredients: 1½ cups of butter, 3 cups of light brown sugar, ⅔ cup of heavy cream, ⅓ cup of light corn syrup, and ½ teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil (reserve the vanilla). Try not to stir too often but give an occasional stir to help prevent the sugar from burning. Keep the sauce at a low rolling boil for about 3 to 4 minutes until thickened.
- Finish and serve. Remove the sauce from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract (or bourbon) then allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving over slices of pudding. This dessert is meant to be served warm and fresh out of the oven! Enjoy!
Now enjoy your amazing sticky toffee pudding! I love it served warm with the toffee sauce and a generous spoonful of chantilly whipped cream for an absolutely unforgettable dessert!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- The toffee sauce recipe makes a generous amount – you can cut it in half if desired!
- Sometimes I like to use a skewer to poke holes in the date cake. Then pour some of the toffee sauce over the pudding to let it soak in. Leave to soak in for a few minutes before serving portions with additional toffee sauce.
- You should make sure the date/hot water mixture is fully cooled down before adding it to the rest of the batter.
- You don’t want the heat of the water to curdle the eggs in the batter!
- I recommend using pitted dates for the easiest results, but you can pit your own!
- To pit the dates, simply use a paring knife (while holding onto the date to prevent it from rolling) to slice the side of the date. Then squeeze out the stone and set it aside. Repeat until all the dates are done, and you’re ready to soak!
🥡 Storing & Reheating
I recommend storing the toffee sauce and pudding separately. You can cover the cake with plastic cling film and/or store it in an airtight cover.
Put the remaining toffee sauce in a jar and seal securely (if putting it in a jar, make sure to leave approximately 1 inch of space between the sauce and the lid). The pudding and toffee sauce will keep for 3 to 4 days.
Freezing sticky toffee pudding is super easy too! Make sure the cake is completely cooled and covered with plastic wrap and/or an airtight cover, then you can freeze it for about 3 months! You can also freeze the toffee sauce, just make sure it’s in an airtight container.
Reheating Sticky Toffee Pudding
Since the pudding is best served warm, you can easily reheat portions in the microwave! Simply scoop servings into bowls and reheat for 30 seconds or until warm.
Then for the toffee sauce, you can also reheat it in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring until warm and melted. Pour sauce over the puddings and enjoy!
❓ Recipe FAQs
Yes! If desired, you can pour the batter into buttered and floured ramekins or large muffin tins. Bake as usual, slice in half (top and bottom), sauce in the middle then replace the top, and serve warm with toffee sauce!
Due to the amount of water in the batter, it will be slightly thinner than a traditional cake batter, but this typically bakes up into a super moist cake! If the batter is extra watery, you may want to make sure you didn’t add too much water to the dates!
Nope! Sticky toffee pudding is a moist, spiced, sponge cake that is made using dates and then topped with a sweet toffee sauce. On the other hand, figgy pudding is made with suet and dried fruits and is steamed.
😋 More Tasty Desserts To Try
- Pineapple Upside Down Bundt Cake - This tropical bundt cake is a popular dessert that is both quick and easy to make!
- Christmas Pudding - A cake-like base is packed with spices and dried fruit for a tasty holiday treat!
- Peach Dump Cake - Dump in your ingredients and pop them in the oven for this simple cake!
- Brownie Blondies - Combine brownies and blondies for an easy and tasty dessert!
- Vanilla Tray Bake - Making cake in a tray is an extra simple way to serve cake to a crowd!
- Chocolate Peppermint Cookies - Chocolate and peppermint are a fantastic duo in this tasty winter treat!
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📖 Recipe Card
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients
Pudding
- 12 oz dates (pitted - Medjool dates preferred)
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup water (boiling)
- 9 tablespoon butter (softened, at room temperature - 1 stick + 1 tablespoon)
- 1 ⅛ cups light brown sugar (packed - 1 cup + 2 tablespoons)
- 3 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 ⅞ cups all-purpose flour (1 ¾ cups + 2 tablespoons)
Toffee Sauce
- 1 ½ cups butter (unsalted - 3 sticks)
- 3 cups light brown sugar (packed)
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or 2 tablespoons of bourbon)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Pudding
- Prep the dates first by combining the dates, baking soda, and boiling water in a heat-safe dish or mixing bowl. Submerge all of the dates in the water, then set aside for 15 minutes to soften.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl cream together the softened butter and light brown sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and mix until combined (add a tablespoon or two of flour if needed to prevent the wet mix from curdling).
- Mix in the baking powder and salt, then add the flour and mix just until you have a smooth batter.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) then grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan.
- Use a food processor or immersion blender to puree the dates until they reach a fine consistency. Fold the puree into the pudding batter until the dates are evenly distributed.
- Transfer the batter into your prepared baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick, cake tester, or butter knife comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly while you make the toffee sauce.
Toffee Sauce
- Combine the sauce ingredients (butter, light brown sugar, heavy cream, corn syrup, and salt - reserve the vanilla) in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir only occasionally while dissolving the sugar and to prevent burning. Keep the sauce at a low rolling boil for about 3-4 minutes until thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla (or bourbon) then allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving over slices of the pudding.
Notes
- This dessert is meant to be served while warm and fresh out of the oven.
- This toffee sauce portion is generous - if desired cut in half (but you'll miss out on all of the gooey deliciousness)!
- Store the pudding and toffee sauce separately. Cover the cake with cling film and an airtight cover (if you have a fitted lid). Put any remaining toffee sauce in a jar and seal securely (make sure to leave approximately 1-inch of space between the sauce and the lid).
- Heat the toffee sauce then serve over a heated pudding portion when serving leftovers.
Sarah says
Approximately how many 5 oz ramekins or muffin tins will this recipe yield?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Good question! Unfortunately I haven't baked this in anything but a 9x13 to date. However, most 9x13 cake recipes will yield 18-24 3.5 ounce standard cupcakes. By ounces of batter, that means that even on the shy end of 18 cupcakes (which is what I would estimate with this recipe) you shield also yield about 12 5-ounce ramekin servings. Hope that helps! Enjoy!!
Nic says
I love that your instructions include the measurements again, below them. About to make this shortly!