Sticky Toffee Pudding is a rich and comforting dessert you will love! These soft and sweet sponge cakes are soaked in a warm toffee sauce and served with whipped cream or ice cream. Choose from four different pan sizes: ramekins, muffin pan, square pan, or bundt pan!
This is the perfect dessert for holidays or celebrations. In fact, it is my all-time favorite holiday dessert – I make it every Christmas! Try it and you will see why.
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What is sticky toffee pudding?
This is a classic British dessert made of soft and sweet date cakes soaked in a warm toffee sauce. The cakes are served with whipped cream, ice cream, heavy cream, or custard. This is a rich and comforting dessert that is perfect for fall, winter, and the holidays.
If you aren’t a fan of dates I still encourage you to try this. This cake doesn’t have a strong date flavor, the dates primarily add moisture and sweetness. After one bite of this dessert it easily became one of my favorite desserts of all-time. It is incredible.
Key ingredients
Dates: Dates are soaked and mashed and added to the cake batter. They add incredible texture and sweetness without an overwhelming “date flavor”.
Brown sugar: This is a key ingredient in both the cakes and the toffee sauce. Brown sugar adds a deep, rich, caramel-like flavor.
Molasses: This intensifies the brown sugar flavor. Did you know that molasses is what makes brown sugar brown?
Butter: This is a butter-based cake and butter is also used to make the toffee sauce rich and flavorful. Unsalted butter works best for this recipe.
Recipe overview
This recipe is two parts: cake and toffee sauce. It is best served warm when the cake is extra soft and the warm toffee sauce soaks into the cake.
Cake
- Combine dates with boiling water and baking soda.
- Beat butter, brown sugar, and molasses.
- Add eggs and vanilla.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Mash or puree the dates and add to the batter.
- Scoop the batter into the pan(s). More on pan size below.
Toffee sauce
- Simmer butter, brown sugar, cream, molasses, and a pinch of salt. Off the heat, add in vanilla extract.
Serving
- Brush some of the toffee sauce onto the cake (allowing it to be absorbed into the cake itself).
- Serve each portion with additional toffee sauce, pouring it generously over each serving.
- Finish with a drizzle of heavy cream, a dollop of whipped cream, or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. A sprinkle of flaky sea salt also creates a nice salty-sweet balance.
Pan sizes
This dessert is typically made as individual servings in ramekins or a muffin tin. If you’d prefer to make it as one whole cake (to cut and serve) you can do that instead.
Ramekins: You can use 4-oz ramekins or 7-oz ramekins. I typically get 9-10 servings from the 4-oz ramekins, and 8 servings from the 7-oz ramekins.
Muffin pan: The cake batter can be baked in a standard muffin pan. Fill cups about two-thirds full. You should have between 10 and 12 cakes.
8×8 pan: Spread batter into a greased 8×8 square pan. Bake time will be a few minutes longer than the ramekins and muffin pan.
Bundt pan: Use a 10-cup bundt pan and bake for 25-29 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
Recipe tips
- Use medjool dates, as they have a deep, caramel-like flavor.
- Adjust the bake time based on the size of your baking dish. Be careful not to overbake.
- Take the extra step of brushing the warm cake with a bit of toffee sauce to allow the cake to really soak up the sauce.
- The toffee sauce will firm up as it cools. Immediately after preparing the sauce, allow it to cool slightly (to thicken), but serve it while it is still warm. If it cools completely or firms up too much, simply reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave to thin it out again.
Ingredient spotlight: medjool dates
Medjool dates are the best dates to use for this recipe. They are soft and sweet with a caramel-like flavor. You will need 7 ounces of medjool dates for this recipe, that is somewhere between 7 and 10 dates. Look for dates in the produce section of your grocery store. Occasionally you might also find them on the dried fruit aisle.
Storage
Store leftover cake and sauce in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, warming both before serving.
“American style” pudding recipes
Recipe
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients
Cake:
- 7 oz pitted medjool dates (approximately 7-10 dates)
- ¾ cup boiling water
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs*, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Toffee sauce:
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons unsulphured molasses (teaspoons, not tablespoons)
- pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
To serve:
- heavy cream, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, and/or flaky sea salt, optional
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Finely chop the dates. You should have about 1 cup loosely packed. Place the dates in a bowl and cover with boiling water and sprinkle with baking soda. Stir, then allow the mixture to sit undisturbed for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, brown sugar, and molasses until creamy and combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat until combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- After the dates have soaked for 20 minutes, mash or puree the dates along with the liquid. If the dates you used were moist you should be able to mash them easily with a fork. If the dates were really dry it will likely be easier to use an immersion blender or small food processor to puree (they don't have to be completely smooth). Transfer all of the date mixture into the cake batter and beat until combined.
- Grease ramekins (preferred)** or see notes for other pan sizes. Transfer the batter to the prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Depending on the size of your ramekins this can be anywhere from 20-25 minutes. Be careful not to overbake. Place on a wire rack to cool.
Toffee sauce:
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the cream, brown sugar, molasses, and salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking occasionally, and simmer for 5-8 minutes. Whisk in vanilla and set aside to cool slightly; it will thicken as it cools.
Assembly and serving:
- While the cakes are still a little bit warm, remove them from the ramekins/muffin tin and place them on a baking sheet or a piece of foil or parchment paper. Note: the cakes will likely have a dome on top. If desired, you can use a serrated knife to level off the top. I prefer to level it off and serve the cakes upside down.
- Brush all sides of the cakes with the toffee sauce, reserving the rest of the sauce for serving.
- Serve the cake warm, drizzled with extra toffee sauce. Garnish with heavy cream, whipped cream, ice cream, and/or a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Video
Notes
SERVING SIZES: This recipe can feed 8-12 people. If using a muffin tin you will get about 12 servings, individual ramekins will yield 8-10 servings, and the 8×8 cake can serve 9-12. This is a very rich recipe; a little goes a long way.
TOFFEE SAUCE: The toffee sauce will firm up as it cools. If it cools completely or firms up too much, simply reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave to thin it out again.
STORAGE: You can store leftover cake and sauce in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, warming both before serving. Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Aida
Can I make the mix a day before?
Allison
The cake batter needs to be baked shortly after assembling. You can make the toffee sauce a day before.
Mohga
Came out nothing like the sticky toffee pudding, more like cupcakes. So disappointing.
Allison
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that. Did you brush the cakes with the syrup so that they would be moist and spongy? Did you make any changes to the recipe?
Chris Farleigh
In the uk we serve this with custar
Faith
Delicious, turned out perfect.
Allison
Yay! I’m so glad. 🙂
Royana
Hi , love the recipe . Thanks for sharing .. if am baking this for a crowd ? Probably need to make 3 to 4 times the quantity in 1 pan . Do I just 3X times or 4X times the quantity ?
Allison
Most likely. What size pan are you planning on using?
Linda
Had this dessert in Ireland and it was absolutely amazing. Checked different recipes and believe this came to it the closest when comparing. When my family tried it they said it is now their favorite dessert.
Allison
I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Linda
Hi: Looks like a great recipe! Wondering if I could use date molasses instead of the soaking dates and water mix and molasses? Would I just substitute the same liquid measure as the ingredients in the recipe? Thanks
Allison
You can use date molasses in place of the molasses but you need to use actual dates.
sarah
What is a substitute for the unsulphured Molasses? I am planning on making this for a crowd and using disposable ramekins. I will not be able to add the toffee sauce last minute before serving, would that be okay? I am using 4 oz ramekins, do you have an idea of how many servings 1 batch will yield?
Allison
Hi, Sarah. I would highly recommend using molasses as it really adds to the depth of flavor in this recipe. If you can’t you can try subbing maple syrup. I’d recommend the darkest and most robust pure maple syrup you can find. You can make the toffee sauce in advance and reheat it in the microwave or stovetop. This is in the notes section of the recipe regarding ramekin size: I have made this with 4-oz ramekins and 7-oz ramekins. I typically get 9-10 servings from the 4-oz ramekins, and 8 servings from the 7-oz ramekins.
Penney
Hi, Allison!
I haven’t made it yet, but I’m excited to try! Thank you for the the thoughtfulness you put into laying out the recipe. So helpful!
I wonder how important it is to use unsalted butter.
Thanks!
Allison
You can try it with salted butter but I would suggest reducing or eliminating any added salt in the recipe.
Samantha
Sooo much better the day after you pour the sauce on. Could not get enough of it!
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Hallie
Could I add some chopped pecans to the recipe?
Allison
Sure. Just stir them into the cake batter before adding it to the pan(s).
Suzanne
Hi Allison,
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it. Question… do you need to spray or butter the ramekins before adding the batter?
Allison
Hi, Suzanne. Yes, they need to be greased. Enjoy!