Sticky date pudding, also known as sticky toffee pudding, is a typical British dessert made with a batter based on cooked dates, eggs, flour, butter and muscovado sugar. As soon as it comes out of the oven this soft cake is pierced several times with a skewer and then covered with a caramel sauce. The sauce penetrates the holes and is partly absorbed by the cake, resulting in a spectacular dessert that is soft, moist and at the same time creamy.
A dessert you fall in love with at first bite! I actually tasted it for the first time in the Maldives and, as soon as I returned home, I tried to recreate it. It turned out exactly as I had eaten it. A little tear fell from joy and the memories connected to this dessert, which in an instant took me back to the white beach, by the sea under the Maldivian palms. <3
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 10Servings
- Cooking methods: Oven, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 7 oz pitted dates
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 7 tbsp butter (soft)
- 1/4 cup muscovado sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 pinches salt
- 9 tbsp butter
- 1 cup muscovado sugar
- 2 pinches salt
- 3/4 + 2 tbsp cup heavy cream
- as needed butter (for greasing the baking dish)
Steps
To prepare the sticky date pudding, chop the dates and place them in a small saucepan. Add the water and the baking soda and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Let simmer gently for about ten minutes, then remove from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 356°F (static).
Meanwhile, put the softened butter, cut into cubes, in a bowl with the sugar. Using electric beaters, whip for a few minutes until you obtain a creamy mixture.
Then add the eggs one at a time and beat until fully incorporated. Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt and add to the butter and egg mixture. Beat with the electric beaters until you obtain a smooth batter.
Blend the mixture of dates and water with an immersion blender and add it to the bowl with the remaining batter. Beat briefly with the beaters just enough to obtain a homogeneous mixture.
Grease a baking dish (approx. 11 x 9 in) with butter and pour in the batter. Spread evenly and bake at 356°F for about 30 minutes. Perform the toothpick test.
Remove from the oven, pierce several times with a wooden skewer and pour about three quarters of the sauce (recipe below) over the entire surface. Let the base absorb the sauce for a few minutes and serve your sticky date pudding still hot or warm, with the remaining sauce on the side.
To prepare the sauce for the sticky date pudding, put the butter cubes in a small saucepan and heat. When it begins to melt, add the muscovado sugar and bring to a boil, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is homogeneous and amber-colored. At this point add the heavy cream and bring back to a boil, stirring. Let it boil over high heat for a couple of minutes and then remove from the heat. Pour the sauce over the sticky date pudding while still hot, just out of the oven.
