The Best Homemade Sticky Toffee Pudding

Warm and gooey perfection, Sticky Toffee Pudding. A perfect blend of warmth and toffee richness. Simple, satisfying, and seriously good. 🥵

What is Sticky Toffee Pudding?

Sticky Toffee Pudding is a classic British dessert that has gained international acclaim for its rich, moist, and indulgent flavour. Despite its name, it's not actually a pudding in the American sense, but rather an extra moist and tender cake made with finely chopped sweet & sticky dates and covered in a luscious toffee sauce. Best served with vanilla ice cream, custard or whipped cream. DROOLINGGGG

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How do you make Sticky Toffee Pudding?

Sticky Toffee Date Pudding can be made with just a few simple steps: 

Prepare the Dates - Chop your dates and let them soak in hot water

Prepare your batter - Whisk together your wet ingredients, add in your dry and stir to combine 

Bake your batter - Seems about obvious

Serve warm with toffee sauce - and perhaps some additional vanilla custard, ice-cream or whipped cream

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Tips for the best Sticky Date Pudding

Use High-Quality Dates - Use fresh and high-quality dates. Soft and moist dates contribute to the pudding's rich and chewy texture.

Properly Soak the Dates - Allow the chopped dates to soak in boiling water with baking soda. This not only softens the dates to a puree but also enhances their flavour.

Don't Overmix - Once you add the flour mixture, avoid overmixing. Overmixing can result in a dense and tough pudding due to overdeveloped gluten. Mix until just combined.

Baking Time - Keep a close eye on the baking time. Overbaking can lead to a dry cake, so use a toothpick to check for doneness. It should come out with a few moist crumbs attached.

Toffee Sauce Consistency -Pay attention to the toffee sauce consistency. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but still pourable. Stir constantly to prevent burning.

Warm Toffee Sauce - Pour the toffee sauce over the pudding while both are still warm. This helps the sauce soak into the pudding, infusing it with rich flavour and moisture.

Serve Warm - Sticky Toffee Pudding is best enjoyed warm. Reheat individual servings if needed before serving.

Enhance with Extras - Consider adding a splash of dark rum or a touch of orange zest to the toffee sauce for extra depth of flavour.

Pairing Suggestions -Serve with a scoop of high-quality vanilla ice cream or a dollop of freshly whipped cream to complement the sweetness of the pudding.

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Baking time and oven temperature

Remember, each oven is unique, so some adjustments to baking time and oven temperature might be needed based on your specific baking environment. All oven temperatures in my recipes are based on a conventional oven. If you bake with a fan-assisted oven, turn down the temperature slightly as these ovens tend to become hotter than a conventional oven at that temperature setting. Ovens have the tendency to deviate from the temperature you set the oven to. I would highly recommend using an oven thermometer to ensure the inside of your oven is at the right temperature. My oven for example only goes up to 160C even though I turn it up to 230C 

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An oven that is too hot may result in an overbaked or burnt bake, an oven that is too cold may result in underbaked and soggy bakes. Having the thermometer will not only help in getting the right temperature but also helps in determining the right baking time. 

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Other factors that may affect baking time

The size of your baking dish may also highly affect your baking time. A wider pan means that the batter spreads out more, resulting in it baking faster than in a smaller pan where the batter is thicker in height. 

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Enjoy loves xx