Impress friends and family with a mouth-watering dessert with only 10 minutes prep! This decadent sticky date pudding is rich, gooey, and downright irresistible. Just mix, bake and serve!
In This Post You’ll Learn
Why We Love This
Sticky date pudding is the ultimate share-worthy dessert! It’s rich and sweet with a lusciously smooth butterscotch sauce you can whip up in just 2 minutes.
We’ve made sure there’s plenty of sauce for everyone who wants just a bit more… and a bit more again!
This recipe is perfect for around 9 portions, but it’s super easy to make a double batch and feed a crowd!
Related: Vanilla Blancmange / Easy Pavlova / Sultana Cake
What is Sticky Date Pudding?
Sticky date pudding, also known as sticky toffee pudding, is British in origin but super popular in Australia as well. Usually made in cooler weather or for special occasions, it’s a warming dessert sure to bring a smile to everyone’s face.
Our sticky date cake recipe includes a mouth-watering hot toffee sauce that’s made in just a few minutes. Like a rich, creamy butterscotch, it’s made with cream, butter and brown sugar for those extra caramel notes.
This recipe today comes from our best friend’s Mum, Lynne, who wowed us with her pudding at a family birthday BBQ. Hands down best dessert of the night!
What You’ll Need
- Dates – The star of the show, dates add sweetness and texture to the pudding. We love the texture of chunky chopped dates throughout the pudding and sliced each date into three or four pieces. You can also mash the dates if you prefer a smoother pudding texture.
- Bicarb Soda – Mixed in boiling water, this helps to soften the dates and help them spread throughout the pudding rather than sinking to the bottom as it bakes.
- Butter – We use salted butter which helps bring out the sweetness and flavour in sticky date pudding even more. You can use unsalted butter if you prefer, and may like to add a pinch of salt to compensate.
- Caster Sugar and Brown Sugar – We use caster sugar (also known as superfine sugar) in the pudding itself, as well as brown sugar in the sauce which helps to give it that rich toffee flavour.
- Eggs – It’s best to use room temperature eggs in baking if you can. We used extra large eggs (59 g each).
- Self Raising Flour – Sub with all purpose flour and 3/4 tsp baking powder.
- Vanilla Essence – Also known as vanilla extract.
How to Make Sticky Toffee Pudding
First, gather your ingredients: See recipe card below for measurements.
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°C / 360°F. Quickly mix dates and bicarb soda in a bowl. Pour boiling water over the top and leave to stand for a few minutes to soften.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
- Fold in self raising flour with a metal spoon until smooth and just combined.
- Add the date liquid, stir well and pour batter into a lightly buttered or lined 22 x 22 cm / 9 x 9 inch square cake tin. Then, press the dates gently into the batter.
- Pop into the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the cake shrinks away from the sides and the top goes nice and brown.
For the hot toffee sauce
- While the pudding is cooking in the oven, combine the brown sugar, thickened cream / heavy cream, butter and vanilla essence in a small saucepan.
- Stir and bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer on medium low and cook for a few minutes before switching off the heat.
- To serve, slice into 9 squares and place in the centre of small warmed plates. Add an optional scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, then pour the hot toffee sauce over the top of the pudding.
Wandercook’s Tips
- To Serve – Simple vanilla ice cream is the ultimate pairing with sticky date pudding! You could also serve it with whipped cream or custard if you prefer.
- Storage – Leftover pudding will last around 5-7 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container. You can also freeze it for 2-3 months. Cool it completely before popping into the fridge or freezer. It’s also a good idea to slice into portions first to make it easy to take out exactly what you need later on.
FAQs
Dates are obviously the key ingredient in sticky date pudding! However, if you just don’t like them or can’t access them, but still want to enjoy the rest of the pudding, you could leave them out or sub with finely sliced apricots, dried fruit or mixed peel to suit your taste. They won’t soften as much as dates, but it’ll still taste delish!
Gently reheat frozen sticky toffee pudding in the microwave in short bursts. Avoid overheating as it can cause the sauce to burn and affect the flavour, not to mention be too hot to eat!
Definitely! Just keep the pudding and toffee sauce separate if you can, so you don’t end up with a soggy mess (if you do though, it’ll still be just as delicious).
Variations
- Soaked Pudding – Just after baking, poke holes all over the surface of the pudding then pour half the amount of butterscotch sauce slowly over the top. It will soak into the pudding, keeping it extra moist.
- Grilled Pudding – Spread half the caramel sauce over the top of the pudding while it’s still in the original baking dish, then pop it under the griller / broiler for a minute or two to make the top extra crispy and crunchy.
- Individual Servings – Portion out the batter into muffin cups or muffin tins and bake for around 25 minutes. This is great if you’re planning to freeze them for later.
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★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup dates chopped, 220 g / 7.76 oz
- 1 tsp bicarb soda
- 1 cup boiling water 250 ml / 8.81 fl oz
- 3 tbsp butter softened, 75 g / 2.64 oz
- ¾ cup caster sugar 130 g / 4.58 oz
- 2 eggs extra large, 118 g / 4.16 oz
- 1 cup self raising flour 150 g / 5.29 oz
For the hot toffee sauce
- 1 cup brown sugar 150 g / 5.29 oz
- 1 cup thickened cream / heavy cream 250 ml / 8.81 fl oz
- 2 tbsp butter 50 g / 1.76 oz
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
Serving ideas
- vanilla ice cream
- whipped cream
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°C / 360°F.
- Quickly mix dates and bicarb soda in a bowl. Pour boiling water over the top and leave to stand for a few minutes to soften.1 ¾ cup dates, 1 tsp bicarb soda, 1 cup boiling water
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.3 tbsp butter, ¾ cup caster sugar, 2 eggs
- Fold in self raising flour with a metal spoon until smooth and just combined.1 cup self raising flour
- Add the date liquid, stir well and pour batter into a lightly buttered or lined 22 x 22 cm / 9 x 9 inch square cake tin. Then, press the dates gently into the batter.
- Pop into the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the cake shrinks away from the sides and the top goes nice and brown.
For the hot toffee sauce
- While the pudding is cooking in the oven, combine the brown sugar, thickened cream / heavy cream, butter and vanilla essence in a small saucepan. Stir and bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer on medium low and cook for a few minutes before switching off the heat.1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup thickened cream / heavy cream, 2 tbsp butter, 1 tsp vanilla essence
- To serve, slice into 9 squares and place in the centre of small warmed plates. Add an optional scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, then pour the hot toffee sauce over the top of the pudding.vanilla ice cream, whipped cream
Video
Nutrition
4 Comments
Diane B
24/07/2023 at 10:02 pmHad been planning to make my family’s favorite date bars when Sticky Date Pudding showed up in my inbox. After more than three decades with my husband, he declared this my “best dessert ever.” High praise from a guy that usually doesn’t want dessert. I admit, however, that adding a touch of bourbon does not hurt it one bit!
Wandercooks
25/07/2023 at 4:58 pmWow, that’s some high praise! Glad you’ve got a new favourite to add to your list and love the bourbon tip too!
kate
30/05/2023 at 12:14 pmThis recipe is delicious! I altered it to a vegan version to suit family requirements, very quick and easy.
Even the toddler smashed a serving. Will be adding this recipe to my dessert repertoire.
Wandercooks
11/06/2023 at 1:20 pmAmazing Kate! So glad you were able to adapt easily to your requirements and that it was such a hit! 😀