Sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce

“The origins of sticky toffee pudding are mixed. Some people say it comes from the Sharrow Bay Hotel in the Lake District, while others claim it comes from The Udny Arms Hotel in Aberdeenshire. For me, I like to think Francis Coulson or Brian Sack, the original owners of the Sharrow Bay, invented this dish in their fantastic hotel on the banks of Lake Ullswater. All I’ve done over the years is to tweak their recipe. I make it with a really rich toffee sauce – let’s face it, if you’re going to make a pud like this, you’ve got to do it properly!” - James

6-8

Image credit: Peter Cassidy

Ingredients

For the pudding

75g soft butter
175g dark brown demerara sugar
200g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tbsp golden syrup 2 tbsp black treacle 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract
200g pitted dried dates 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

For the toffee sauce:

100g sugar
100g butter
200ml double cream

Method

Print Recipe

Pre-heat the oven to 200oC/400oF/Gas mark 6. Grease a 23cm tin thoroughly with 25g of the butter, then dust the inside of the tin with flour.

Using a food mixer, blend the remaining butter and sugar together. Slowly add the golden syrup, treacle, eggs and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and continue mixing. Turn the mixer down to a slow speed and then add the flour. Once all the ingredients are combined, turn off the mixer.

Place the dates in a saucepan with 300ml water and bring to the boil. Purée the water and date mixture and add the bicarbonate of soda. While it is still hot, quickly add this mixture to the egg mix. Once the mix is combined, pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40–45 minutes until the top is just firm to the touch.

Remove the pudding from the oven and allow to cool, then turn out of the tin and cut into squares.

To make the sauce, melt the butter and sugar together in a small pan, add the cream and bring to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.

To serve, re-heat the sponge in a microwave or heat for 5 minutes in the oven at 180oC/350oF/Gas mark 4. Place onto a plate with lots of the sauce on the top and a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you wish.

The sponge and sauce can be made in advance. The sponge can even be frozen and both can be plated up and re-heated in the microwave.

Ingredients

For the pudding

75g soft butter
175g dark brown demerara sugar
200g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tbsp golden syrup 2 tbsp black treacle 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract
200g pitted dried dates 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

For the toffee sauce:

100g sugar
100g butter
200ml double cream

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200oC/400oF/Gas mark 6. Grease a 23cm tin thoroughly with 25g of the butter, then dust the inside of the tin with flour.

Remove the pudding from the oven and allow to cool, then turn out of the tin and cut into squares.

To make the sauce, melt the butter and sugar together in a small pan, add the cream and bring to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.

The sponge and sauce can be made in advance. The sponge can even be frozen and both can be plated up and re-heated in the microwave.

This recipe is from the book:

Desserts

“A compilation of my favourite desserts, including recipes that have been in my family for generations, classic dishes and traditional favourites with a twist along with recipes I’ve developed from scratch. I’ve also included some tips on mastering the basics. There’s plenty to tempt you back into the kitchen!” - James

Buy this book