By Request: Sticky Toffee Pudding
The pudding drooled over around the world.
I’m covered in flour, dripping of chicken stock and feeling terribly guilty about the 3rd consecutive Dora The Explorer episode distracting my ladies while I prep tomorrow’s Christmas feast. My apron may be busy but I think I need to take a 15 minute break to type out the phenomenal Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe I’ve been teasing social media channels with.
Since Instagram’ing that picture (<–) of my toffee soaked pudding yesterday, I’ve been bombarded by recipe requests via email, Facebook and twitter. Turns out that many of you share my affection for this decadent dessert over the holidays. Since this is the season of giving and I’m not one to deny a home cook their just desserts…
This recipe is courtesy of Kyle & Lorraine Deming, Chef/Owners/Operators of Toronto’s Sausage Partner, as printed in the Toronto Life Cookbook, Jan. 2013. This is the recipe as it was printed, there is no need to adapt a thing – relatively simple to create and without a doubt, the BEST Sticky Toffee Pudding I’ve ever had. I’m looking forward to visiting Sausage Partners in the new year and raving to the owners in-person, although I’m sure they’ve heard it all before.
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 35 minutes
Serves: about 9 (if you choose to share)
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 1 cup pitted dates, coursely chopped
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of kosher salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
Toffee Sauce:
- 1 cup packed brown sugar (dark for a richer colour & taste)
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 1/3 cups whipped cream
- For the cake, grease an 8-inch square metal baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 F
- Boil 1 1/4 cups water in a small saucepan. Add dates and stir well. Remove saucepan from heat and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Using an electric mixer, cream sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
- In a food processor (or immersion blender), pulse dates and water mixture until finely minced. Stir flour alternately with date mixture into sugar mixture, starting and ending with flour.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- With 10 minutes of cooking time remaining on cake, prepare your toffee sauce. Heat sugar and butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until butter melts. Stir in cream and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- When cake is ready, set pan on a wire rack. Poke holes, about 1/2 inch apart, all over cake with a skewer or the cake tester. Drizzle about half of the hot toffee sauce evenly over the cake. Let stand for at least 10 minutes. Cut into squares, drizzle individual portions with remaining toffee sauce and serve with whipped cream or double devon cream.
Some simply see butter & sugar, others (like Kyle & Lorraine Deming) see a work of art in the making.
45 minutes later… not the prettiest dessert you have ever seen but the sweet toffee sauce and date-rich cake will have your tongue begging for a second helping.
Life, as she knew it, is about to change.
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thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! i will be making this this week as an extra special treat. omg i can’t wait!!!
Thanks for making it! It really is the greatest thing ever as well as one of the easiest. I feel your pain about Dora – Lilly can’t get enough. We have heard it before but it’s always nice to hear it again!
Happy Holidays,
Kyle, Lorraine, and Lilly Deming
Nice!! Brown sugar makes anything taste amazing. This I firmly believe.
Any chance of having the quantities by weight (oz/grams)? I find that it’s better for baking…
Hi Dom, there is a handy website for conversions here: http://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/grams-to-ounces.htm and a similar app for smart phones. Glad you enjoyed – great tip with the toffee!
Very tasty, I look forward to buying some the next time I’m at Sausage Partners. Last time I was there, you’d just run out, poor me:(
One nice trick I’ve tried, is to make the toffee sauce ahead of time and pour a third to half into the prepared pan, leaving it to set in the fridge. Then add the batter and bake – you get that nice ‘soggy bottom’ of old.