I’m a big fan of desserts that can be served warm, such as brownies, pies, cobblers, etc. I’ve known about Sticky Toffee Pudding for a while but stayed away from trying it because it reminded me of soggy bread pudding. Then about six years ago, I was out for dinner with a friend who ordered a sticky toffee pudding for dessert to share, and I fell in love with it instantly. It was so much better than a brownie and had a fruity taste that I couldn’t figure out the first time. But most importantly, it did not taste like a pudding, and it definitely was not soggy at all!

Sticky toffee pudding is an English dessert made of a very moist sponge cake (that is mostly sweetened with dates) and covered in a toffee sauce. It is best served warm, with a big scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Some bakeries add brandy or whisky to the toffee sauce, but I prefer mine without any alcohol, especially since my kids love to eat every dessert I make.

You can find dates in the dried fruit or baking section at the supermarket. In case you aren’t familiar with this delicious fruit, I’ll share some background on this sweet and nutrition-packed fruit that can help satisfy one’s sweet tooth with natural sugars instead of refined sugars. Dates grow in large clusters, similar to grapes, on large trees called “date palms”. They can be eaten fresh or partially dehydrated. Dates have a small pit inside, which can be easily removed by slicing the fruit lengthwise. They have recently become a trendy healthier substitute for sugar in smoothies, baking, and even ketchup!

Dates are native to the Middle Eastern countries and have been a part of their cuisine for thousands of years. It is also a popular fruit in the Islamic culture, which has a well-known tradition for Muslims to break their fast at sunset with a date. In North America, the majority of dates are grown in California. There are several varieties of dates, and each differs in texture, size and sweetness level. Some popular types include Medjool and Deglet Noor. I usually buy the Organic Deglet Noor dates by Terra Delyssa at Costco. They are medium-sized, golden-brown and perfect for snacking, cooking or baking.

Sticky Toffee Pudding can be made as a full cake or as mini cakes. I’ve noticed most restaurants and bakeries usually have them as mini cakes, but I prefer to bake mine in a whole cake pan, so it’s easier to control the portion. You can make the full-size cake in a bundt pan, angel food cake pan or even a 10”x12” foil tray, which is ideal for parties and potlucks. I scaled up the mini cake recipe by 50% for the full cake, but some quantities don’t work out to be precisely 1.5 times, so I’ll list the ingredients for both recipes and spare you the guesswork 😊.

Mini Cakes: Prep time: 30 mins | Bake time: 16-20 mins | Servings: 12 mini cakes

Cake: Prep time: 30 mins | Bake time: 45-55 mins | Servings: 8 slices

Mini Cake Ingredients

1 cup chopped pitted dates
1 cup water
½ tsp baking soda

¼ cup unsalted butter softened to room temp
⅓ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tbsp fancy molasses*
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

1⅓ cup all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled**
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ salt

Full-sized Cake Ingredients

1½ cup chopped pitted dates
1¼ cup water
¾ tsp baking soda

⅓ cup unsalted butter softened to room temp
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3 tbsp fancy molasses*
3 eggs
1½ tsp vanilla

2 cup all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled**
1½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp cinnamon
½ salt

Toffee Sauce Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter cubed
⅔ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tbsp fancy molasses*
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup whipping cream (35%)

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, bring the chopped dates and water to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in baking soda and remove from heat. The mixture will bubble up. Let it cool to room temperature and purée using an immersion blender until smooth.

2.  Using a stand mixer or hand mixer with a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 5 mins.

3. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time.

4. Beat in vanilla and molasses.

5. In a separate medium-sized bowl, mix flour with the next 3 ingredients.

6. Stir in the flour mixture, ½ cup at a time and alternate with a bit of the date purée until everything is well mixed.

7. Preheat oven to 350°F.

8. For the mini cakes, divide the batter in a 12 well-greased muffin pan or 12 ramekins. Bake 16-20 minutes.
   For the full-sizes cake, pour batter into a 9” or 10” cake pan (bundt or angel food cake pan works well). Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, turning once halfway through. Insert a toothpick in the center of a cake, and if it comes out clean, then you’re done!

9.  Toffee Sauce: in a small saucepan, heat the butter cubes with the sugar, molasses, and salt over medium heat, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved.

10. Stir in the vanilla and whip cream and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes, until the sauce has slightly thickened.

11. Poke holes in the cake using a toothpick or skewer. For the mini cakes, spoon 2 tsp of the toffee sauce over each one. For the full-sized cake, drizzle half the toffee sauce over the entire cake and coat the top and sides well. Let stand for about 10 minutes, until sauce is completely absorbed.

12.  Serve warm with an additional drizzle of toffee sauce and vanilla ice-cream. Toss a few sliced almonds on the cake.

Recipe Notes

*If you do not have fancy molasses at home, replace it with equal amounts of brown sugar. Alternatively, skip the molasses altogether to reduce the sweetness since this dessert is already pretty sweet to start.

**Spoon & level method - do not scoop flour out of the bag/container with your measuring cup. Instead, use a spoon to scoop flour into your measuring cup and once full, use the back of a knife to level off the cup; do not tap the cup.

If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to know how it turns out.
Comment below or share a photo on IG and tag @emmaya.us.

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About Me

Hi there! I’m Tahmina - mom of two girls, an engineer, a passionate baker, a decent cook, and a creative event planner.

I’ve always enjoyed baking but became passionate about it after I had my first child. Now I combine my knowledge from working in the food industry and increased interest in food and nutrition to experiment with various ingredients and recipes.