Dates were going cheap at the supermarket, so I bought a box. A perfect excuse to make this! Sticky Date pudding is one of my favourite desserts. It’s perfect for wintry nights.
Sticky Date Pudding
serves 8
200g fresh dates, pitted
300ml boiling water
1 tsp bi-carb soda
60g butter
140g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
170g self raising flour
For the toffee sauce:
125g butter
125g brown sugar
2/3 cup cream
1 vanilla bean, split (optional)
Mix dates and bi-carb soda. Pour over water and leave to stand. If you don’t want pieces of date in your puddings, you can puree the mixture in a blender, food processor or with a stick blender.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease an 18cm square cake tin, or 8 jumbo cupcake holes with butter.
Cream together the butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Fold in the flour and then stir in the date mixture.
Pour mixture into the pan/cupcake holes. For the square cake tin, bake for 30 – 40 minutes. For individual puddings, bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
While the pudding is cooking, make the toffee sauce. Put all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. The sauce will bubble up when it boils. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean. The sauce will thicken when it cools and can be kept in the fridge if you make it ahead. Just reheat and it will thin out again.
Pour a little of the warm sauce over the hot pudding and put back in the oven for a few minutes until it soaks in.
Serve the pudding with the rest of the sauce and some vanilla ice cream.
The Procrastobaker says
Sticky toffee pud’s are my all time favourite comfort food for suurree, and yours looks TOTALLY perfect. Like store bought good (or better obviously! 🙂 ) great recipe thank you, although i may end up cursing you for introducing it to me when my jeans no longer fit 🙂
Jennifer @ Mother Thyme says
Several years ago my brother made a sticky toffee pudding for the holidays. Ever since then I have been hooked on it. I just love your recipe and look forward to trying it and sharing it with my brother who shared it with me initially.
Monica says
Yummo! Is this recipe from a Women’s Weekly cookbook? My favourite sticky date pudding recipe is from there and it seems to be identical to yours. I also bought some cheap dates at the market (no jokes, people) so I might have to make some of these too. *drool
ohbabylee says
Hi Monica – the recipe is from Stephanie Alexander, although I think they’re all pretty much the same. I halved the amount of toffee sauce because the original makes a ridiculous amount! – Abby
The Dinner Belle for KimberlyBelle.com says
I LOVE dates! They are so underrated in the dessert world. And your gorgeous photo basically got my mouth watering. Must make something like this myself!
RChristopher says
I remember having sticky toffee pudding while on holiday in London. Your recipe with dates looks amazing. In fact, I think I could live on the toffee sauce alone. Yum!
petesjoy says
Quite simply, the best Sticky Date Pudding I have made to date (pun intended).
Renée says
Wow! I always make Sticky Date Pudd in a regular cake pan and cut it into boring old squares. This is way more beautiful! I pinned it with my recipe conversion, hope you don’t mind!
http://www.pinterest.com/ReneesSoirees
thingsforboys says
always happy to be pinned