Ultimate Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ultimate Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ultimate Sticky Toffee Pudding

Sometimes the idea for a recipe just comes to me and then other times it is a matter of honing and polishing an old recipe of mine to see if I can improve it. Of course practicing a dish again and again has a down side unless you go to the gym 3-4 days a weeks, as we do!

My starting point was my old recipe that was published in my newspaper column some years ago. I was aiming for light, yet full of toffee flavours. Spicy and moist but not wet. But that recipe was individual portions in dariole molds and not everyone has dariole molds but they do often have a brownie tray. When a chef gives a recipe a grandiose title like ‘ultimate’, it better be pretty special and if you give my recipe a try I think you will agree.     

Medjoul Dates
Medjoul Dates

To make it the ‘ultimate’ you must use whole Medjoul dates and pit them yourself. Lots of cheaper dates are too sweet to make up for the lack of flavour, so treat yourself and wow your dinner guests!

The Ultimate Sticky Toffee Pudding serves 9
225 g pitted Medjoul Dates (whole dates with the stone removed)
1 Vanilla Pod
150ml boiling water
180g Self Raising Flour
1 tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
90 g soften unsalted butter
1 heaped teaspoon mixed spices
100 g soft brown sugar/Demerara
40 g castor sugar
1 Tbsp Black treacle
125 ml whole milk
2 Large eggs
Toffee Sauce
200 vanilla sugar *
60 g unsalted butter
250 ml double cream
1/2 Tbsp black treacle
1 non-stick 26cm (10inch) x 26cm (10inch) x 4cm (1.5 inch) deep brownie tin

Making the pudding
1. Butter and line a non stick brownie tray with baking paper.
2. Chop the dates into small pieces and place in a small deep bowl. Pour on 150ml of boiling water and allow them to soak for at least 30 minutes.
3. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
4. Preheat the oven to 170 C, or if you have no fan 180 C.
5. Beat the 2 eggs separately with a fork and add the vanilla seeds to the beaten egg.
7. In your stand mixer using your beater paddle/blade beat the butter and sugars until they are creamed and much lighter.
8. Next beat in the 1 Tbsp of Black treacle.
9. Gradually beat in a little of the egg into the batter mixture, then fold in a little of the flour.
10. Repeat this process until the all the egg and flour mix is incorporated and the mix is well beaten.
11. On a lower speed gradually add the milk to the batter, then finally stir in the dates and water that they soaked in.
12. Pour the mix into your prepared brownie tin and smooth the top to ensure it rises evenly.
13. Bake on the middle shelf for 30-35 minutes and test with a toothpick.
14. Allow the pudding to cool in the tin, on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before cutting.

Making the Toffee Sauce
1. Put the vanilla sugar in a heavy bottomed small saucepan.
2. Before you start the toffee sauce have a cup of cold water with a pastry brush in, close at hand.
3. Turn the heat on to medium high and then from time to time brush the inside wall of the saucepan to prevent sugar crystals from forming.
4. When the sugar begins to brown around the edges then move the sugar around the saucepan and turn down the heat. Once all the sugar has melted and brown turn the heat off.
5. Now add the cream gradually and stir in with a spoon. Once all the cream is added then add the butter in small pieces and continue to stir.
6.Finally stir in the black treacle and remove the toffee sauce from the heat.

To Serve
1. Turn the sticky toffee pudding out onto a cutting board and remove the baking paper and cut the pudding into 9 equal portions.
2. Spoon a little toffee sauce onto the bottom of each of your pudding bowls.
3. Place a warm square of sticky toffee pudding on top of the toffee sauce, then spoon extra toffee sauce on top. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or sour cream.

Chef’s Notes
I keep all my empty vanilla pods, dice them up and mix with caster sugar. Over time the sugar takes on a wonderful vanilla scent and flavour. When I use my vanilla sugar I sieve out the pieces of vanilla pod and put them back into the jar. Some may have noticed the chopped walnuts on top of the sticky toffee pudding, this is stop the sour cream melting immediately into the warm pudding.

Dates Some people spell Medjoul and some spell it Medjool.

As promised, here is my Youtube video of the recipe, enjoy.

The Ultimate Sticky Toffee Pudding©KevinAshton 2024

75 thoughts on “Ultimate Sticky Toffee Pudding”

    1. Thank you for asking such a good question.
      Years ago most pudding recipes were steamed and often heavier in texture. Modern recipes like mine aim to be light in texture but full of flavour. This is easier to achieve by baking the pudding.
      Best Wishes & Happy New Year!
      Kevin 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. That sounds lovely and very romantic, thanks for the idea.
        I can see you are so romantic and love Sophie so much. Great!
        All the best too.
        Elvira 🙂

        Like

    1. Thanks Anne, it is one of my favourites I do hope you’ll give my recipe a try. Let me also take this chanceto wish you a Happy New Year. x
      I was trying to go visit your horseaddict site but there seems to be a problem?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. I’m still getting an error message when I click on your link.
        This message is appearing:

        “Something unexpected happened while accessing this website. It looks like it doesn’t have an active domain connection upgrade to link the requested domain name to the WordPress.com site.”

        Like

    1. Hi Ronit and let me thank you for your great question.
      Over the many years of refining my Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe I realised that Black Treacle is slightly acidic thus the combination of baking soda and baking power gives me a lighter texture to pudding. I know it might seem unusal to add baking powder to a self raising flour which already contains baking powder but after trying so many different combinations, this one is the ultimate. giving me flavour and best texture.
      Some sticky toffee puddings may taste good, but stick to roof of your mouth and be a heavy dessert.
      Best Wishes
      Kevin 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Hi Noelle and thank you for your great question.

      I guess the closest thing in the US to black treacle is molasses. They are in fact both made from cane sugar, it is just that black treacle is more refined and a smoother taste. Black treacle is actually made from cane molasses.
      So you could substitute molasses for the black treacle in my recipe.

      The ancient Greeks used treacle to treat snake bites and this medical application is where the name treacle comes from. In ancient Greek the word is.. Thēriakē, which means ‘antidote against venom’.
      I love food history!
      Best Wishes
      Kevin

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  24. My computer is not cooperating so I can’t see the video. I am confused on the “sticky toffee pudding” because to me pudding is like custard or yogurt and this looks like a brownie type thing. It looks yummy, but the “pudding” is confusing me.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Hi Terre and Happy New Year!

      The word pudding, dates back to at least the 13th century and has many different meanings, but originally it meant something stuffed inside something else. In the late 17th century it meant a dish consisting of flour, milk, eggs, etc., originally boiled in a bag until semi-hard, often enriched with raisins or other fruit”. But even today both sweet dishes and savoury dishes can use the word “pudding” such as Yorkshire Pudding, which is a savoury popover served with Roast Beef.
      As for sticky toffee pudding, you often see recipes of individual portions but I wanted to make a recipe that was easy to replicate, hence it being baked in a brownie tin.

      Sorry you are having problems playing the video in situ, I tried and it played fine.
      You can also to my Youtube Channel and watch it there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeihkOUYfm4

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I basically think of pudding as a custard-like thing. I am not very culinary-knowledgeable. Thank you. I was determined to view the video so I was trying to watch it on YouTube. As I said, it was my computer.

        Liked by 2 people

  25. I’ve been seriously wanting to make this recipe for several months.

    Thanks for sharing your version. I like the idea of this caramel like dessert this time of year. I would serve mine warm.

    Good to hear from your again.

    Teri

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks Teri, always good to hear from you.
      Yes, this dessert is best served warm with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche. If you can’t find treacle use Molasses instead.
      Best Wishes
      Kevin 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a comment