Those Cakes We Like ... Are Deliciously Sticky
A delicious hug of a dessert, perfect for cold, dark January.
I have a guilty secret. Last year I started to watch YouTube videos of Americans visiting the UK and discovering our food culture. I quickly developed a little bit of an addiction. Part of the appeal of these videos was the degree of superiority I felt when I watched them walk into a Wetherspoons or a Toby Carvery and proceed to base their entire opinion of British cuisine on these sub-standard offerings. It is essentially the equivalent of judging American food solely on a visit to a Chuck E. Cheese. It wasn’t long however, before I found myself discovering several Americans who actually made an effort to travel throughout our relatively small country and really explore the food scene in the different regions of our little nation. It became swiftly apparent to me that there are two British foods Americans just cannot get enough of, one is a Greggs Sausage Roll, and the other is Sticky Toffee Pudding. I can’t say that I blame them, the Sticky Toffee Pudding is one of the greatest winter desserts in existence: sweet, fruity, sticky, warm and comforting, and it can be served with hot custard, cream, ice cream or clotted cream, or even on its own with nothing but the toffee sauce. I am starting to think that if we wanted to reunite the UK and the USA, all we would need to do is promise to provide you with all the Sticky Toffee Pudding you could eat. And Universal Healthcare. And our paid vacation days. It is entirely possible that my decision to provide you with this recipe may undercut any theoretical future efforts to unite our two nations, but I am willing to risk whatever consequences may come my way.
Don’t say I never give you anything.
A Little Slice Of History
The origins of Sticky Toffee Pudding are rather ... sticky. There are contesting stories claiming that this delicious dessert was first developed in Cumbria during the 1970s, in Lancashire during the 1940s (developed from a recipe shared by Canadian troops during World War II which used maple syrup), or, and this is the oldest origin story I could find, at a little place called the Gait Inn in Millington, East Yorkshire, in 1907. Regardless of the exact date that this dessert was first invented, or the location it was invented in, it was the British chef Francis Coulson who popularised the dish when he added it to the menu at the Sharrow Bay Hotel in Ullswater, Cumbria, in the 1970s. The dish is still widely associated with Cumbria — you’d be hard pressed to find a pub or restaurant in the Lake District which doesn’t feature this dish on their dessert menu. The tiny Lake District village of Cartmel is home to the Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding Company, considered to be the custodians of the most famous version of this popular dessert.
We can be certain that the invention of Sticky Toffee Pudding relies on events which occurred much earlier than any of the claims to its invention. Without the importation of dates to the UK, the Sticky Toffee pudding would be missing one of its key ingredients. First imported to Britain during the early medieval period by way of North Africa via Arab and Venetian traders, the sweet and sticky date was an alternative for the more expensive sugar. Dates were first domestically cultivated over 6000 years ago. By the 1660s dates were being used in savoury dishes in the royal court as the Islamic style of cooking grew in popularity, with dates used in meat and fish dishes similar to tagines. The use of dates was initially restricted to the kitchens of the very wealthy; transportation of exotic goods such as dates and spices was slow and expensive, putting them out of the reach of the common folk. Even as transportation improved, dates didn’t really become part of the diet of everyday Britons until the mid-twentieth century: Whilst they were more accessible, they were almost unseen except for during the Festive period, when a dusty box of rather dry and unappealing fruit would suddenly appear in the houses of grandmothers throughout the country. Thankfully, fresh dates are now widely available in UK supermarkets and these delicious fruits are becoming more regularly used in British cooking with the introduction of date oils and syrups and an increased interest in exploring Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food. So, what this means is that every bite of Sticky Toffee Pudding contains over 6000 years of history and careful agricultural and culinary development, not to mention the disputed claims over its creation — that’s pretty special.
This recipe needs to be prepared in two parts, with the sponge and the toffee sauce being prepared separately and then combined at the end. It’s also a very good idea, although by no means essential, to prepare it at least a day before you plan to eat it in order to allow the sauce time to be absorbed into the sponge and create that perfect sticky texture.
For anyone living with Diabetes or needing to count carbohydrates for any reason, this is a carb heavy dessert, clocking in at 640.1g of carbs for the entire recipe. This recipe will comfortably serve 6-8 people, depending how generous you’re feeling, so that’s either 80g or 107g per serving, not including any custard or ice cream, etc, you may serve it with.
Your Equipment
Digital kitchen scales
Small mixing bowl
Fork
Stand mixer or large mixing bowl and hand whisk
Deep rectangular baking tray or cake pan (a lasagne dish would also work well) or individual ramekins
Saucepan
Wooden spoon
Your Ingredients
For the sponge:
225 g Medjool dates (get as close as you can to 225g, I usually go slightly above to allow for the removal of the stones)
175 ml Boiling water
1 tsp Vanilla extract
175 g Self-rising/Self-raising flour
1 tsp Baking soda/Bicarbonate of soda
2 Eggs
85 g Butter (softened), plus extra for greasing the baking tray
140 g Demerara sugar (or soft brown sugar)
2 tbsp Black treacle
100 ml Milk
For the toffee sauce:
175 g Light brown sugar
50g Butter
225 ml Heavy/Double cream
1 tbsp Black treacle
The Important Bit
Firstly, de-stone and finely chop your Medjool dates (225 g), place these in your small mixing bowl along with 175ml of boiling water. Give them a quick stir and then set aside and leave them to soak for 30 minutes.
After about 15 minutes you should start the sponge.
Start by preheating your oven to 350 F/ 180 C and lightly buttering your baking tray or ramekins and dusting them with a little extra flour.
Add the remaining sponge ingredients except for the vanilla extract (175 g self-rising flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 eggs, 85 g softened butter, 140 g demerara sugar, 2 tbsp black treacle, 100 ml milk) in your large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Use the whisk attachment to whisk the mixture until it forms a loose, but slightly grainy cake batter, this should take around 3 - 5 minutes on a medium speed. You could also do this by hand, but it will take a bit longer.
Return to your bowl of chopped dates, most of the water should have been absorbed. Add your vanilla extract to your soaked dates and mash with a fork.
Add the soaked dates to the cake batter and whisk together for another minute or two to ensure the dates are well distributed.
Pour the cake batter into your baking tray or ramekins and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes. The individual ramekins will cook faster than the larger tray, so check the sponge after 20 minutes using the skewer method and return to the oven for 5 minutes if needed, repeat until the skewer comes out clean.
Note: It is also possible to make the sponge in a microwave if you do not have access to an oven. It’s best to do this as a large sponge rather than individual sponges (it’s just quicker and easier). All you need to do is place the cake mixture into a large, microwave safe bowl and cover with clingfilm/plastic wrap. Do not poke holes in the plastic wrap. Simply microwave the sponge for 2 minutes at a time until it is thoroughly cooked (use the skewer method to check). The texture won’t be quite the same as the oven baked sponge, but it is close enough for when you’re craving a sticky toffee hit but you don’t have access to an oven.
Leave the sponge to cool in the tray while you make the toffee sauce.
In your saucepan, combine the light brown sugar (175 g), butter (50 g) and half of the cream (112 ml). Cook on a medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to boil and the sugar is fully dissolved.
Stir in the black treacle (1mtbsp) and turn the heat up, allow the mixture to bubble for 2-3 minutes, stirring it occasionally so that it doesn’t burn.
Remove the toffee sauce from the heat and quickly stir in the remaining cream (113 ml). You should now have a rich, toffee coloured sauce.
Loosen your sponge from the tray using a palette knife and carefully remove it from the tray/ ramekins (if you’ve made a large pudding in a baking tray rather than individual puddings it is easier to cut the sponge into portions at this point and remove each portion from the baking tray using a fish slice).
If you wish to serve the Sticky Toffee Puddings immediately, simply pour a little of the syrup into each serving dish, then place the sponge on top and pour over more of the sauce. I recommend you don’t do this though, the sponge will improve in taste and texture if it is allowed to soak in the toffee sauce for at least 24 hours.
If you want to take the time to serve this dessert at its best then, after removing the sponge from its tray/ramekin, simply place half the syrup in the bottom of the tray/ramekins you have just removed the sponge from, then replace the sponge and top it with the rest of the toffee sauce. Loosely cover the puddings with foil or baking parchment, and leave them to stand for 24-48 hours. You do not need to chill them. You could also freeze them for up to 6 months and simply defrost and then reheat them when you’re craving a sweet treat.
When you’re ready to serve the Sticky Toffee Puddings, simply preheat your oven to 350 F/180C and reheat the puddings for 15-20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling. Remove the puddings from the oven and allow them to cool for a minute or two and then serve with hot custard, cream, or ice cream.
I hope you’ll agree that this recipe really isn’t as intimidating as it might initially appear, it’s definitely worth taking time to bake as there is a reason it is one of the most popular desserts in the UK. I’d describe it as a warm, comforting hug in a bowl, just what you need for the long, dark days of January once the excitement of the New Year is over.
I’ll be back in February, with a rather iconic cake which should work very well for Valentines Day.
Until then...
Share joy, share love, share cake!
And don’t forget to tip your Wonkette if you can.
US diagnosed with “hemochromaytosis” (too much irony in the blood).
A foreign president can be tried in a US court, but a US president cannot be.
In 1775, Mad King George never took action without the consent of Parliament. In 2025, Mad King Trump never took action with the consent of Congress.
For those of you curious about black treacle, it is possible to make your own.
https://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/homemade-treacle-recipe/#recipe
The writing in this recipe isn't brilliant, but the method is sound.