Sam Hall

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Serves 6 · About 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the pudding

  • 250 g pitted dates, chopped
  • 250 ml boiling water
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 85 g unsalted butter, softened
  • 150 g dark brown soft sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 175 g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt

For the toffee sauce

  • 200 g dark brown soft sugar
  • 100 g unsalted butter
  • 250 ml double cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan).
  2. Pour boiling water over dates, stir in bicarbonate of soda, leave 15–20 minutes until softened.
  3. Mash dates with a fork, or blend briefly — you want a thick paste with some texture.
  4. Cream butter and sugar until lighter in colour.
  5. Beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla.
  6. Fold in flour and salt.
  7. Stir in date mixture until combined.
  8. Pour into a buttered tin or baking dish — whatever it fills to about two-thirds.
  9. Bake 30–35 minutes, until a skewer comes out mostly clean.

Toffee sauce

  1. Put butter, sugar, cream, vanilla and salt in a saucepan.
  2. Heat gently until butter melts.
  3. Simmer 3–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until smooth and slightly thickened.

To serve

  • Poke holes in the warm pudding.
  • Pour over one-third of the sauce; soak 5–10 minutes.
  • Serve warm with the rest.

Serve with:

  • Vanilla ice cream
  • Clotted cream
  • Thick double cream
  • Crème fraîche, if you want it less sweet

Freezes well.