Cookbook:Sticky Toffee Pudding

Sticky Toffee Pudding
Category	Dessert recipes
Servings	9
Time	40 mins, plus resting
Difficulty

Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes

| Dessert | UK Cuisine

Recipe 1

Note: Finely chopping the dates helps make a really gooey cake - but some people prefer to chop the dates roughly, so that they're more obvious in the finished pudding.

Ingredients

For the cake

• 250g self-raising flour
• 100g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 250g caster sugar
• 2 large or 3 medium eggs
• 250g dates (without stones), finely chopped
• 300ml water
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

For the toffee sauce

• 400 ml whipping cream
• 2/3 cups dark, soft brown sugar (e.g. muscovado)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 375g unsalted butter

Method

• Preheat oven to 180ºC/360ºF.
• Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla. You can do this by beating it in a bowl with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes, taking care to break up the crystals and smooth the mixture out as much as possible. Or do it using an electric blender if you prefer.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating in after you've added each egg.
• Fold in the flour.
• Now, bring the water to the boil and add the dates. Add the bicarb and immediately take the pan off the heat. Let it cool slightly, then add to the mixture.
• Pour the mixture into a greased cake-tin (make sure you use one with enough room for the cake to rise!).
• Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and set aside to cool a little while you make the sauce.
• To make the sauce:
  • Mix the four ingredients in a saucepan.
  • Heat gently, stirring often to make sure that the mixture doesn't separate.
  • Once the mixture looks like a smooth sauce and is nice and warm, it's ready. Don't allow it to bubble.
• Divide the cake into portions and poke holes all over the top with a skewer or chopstick.
• Pour the sauce over the top of the cake, making sure it gets in the holes.

Serve with cream, custard, or ice-cream.

Recipe 2 (without dates)

Ingredients

For the cake

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

For the toffee sauce

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Sift dry ingredients together.
• Cream butter, sugar and eggs together.
• Combine wet and dry ingredients, mixing just until blended. Mix in walnuts.
• Pour batter into 8x8 buttered pan and bake until skewer comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the toffee sauce:
  • Combine half of cream with sugar and butter in heavy large saucepan.
  • Boil over medium-high heat until mixture thickens slightly and is deep golden, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes.
  • Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes.
  • Gradually whisk in remainder of cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir over low heat until mixture is smooth.
• Poke warm cake all over with a chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon and pour half of toffee sauce over, making sure it soaks into all parts of the cake. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.

Serve warm, topped with remaining toffee sauce and creme fraiche or unsweetened whipped cream.

Makes about 9 servings.

Source of recipe 2

Recipe published by Tam and Laura under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License, retrieved 2008-11-29 from http://tamandlaura.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-english-can-you-get.html . Laura has given permission for it to be reprinted here under the wikibooks license (permission obtained 2008-12-18, by email, mcld).