Sticky Toffee Pudding
The very word pudding, in my mind's eye, conjures up a slab of dark sticky toffee, bathed in an oozing, rich golden sauce. It’s devilishly sweet, and indulgent and even with the incredible and ridiculously easy sauce, I still love to enjoy my STP with a scoop of clotted cream ice cream on top.
Ingredients
Cake
- 75 g butter, plus extra for greasing
- 100 g dark muscovado sugar
- 50 g light soft brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 200 g self-raising flour
- 250 g pitted dates, roughly chopped
- 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 350 ml boiling water
- 30-50 g walnuts, slightly crushed
Sticky Toffee Sauce
- 125 g dark muscovado sugar
- 125 g butter
- 300 ml double cream
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line your tin - either use a large shallow baking tin or a loaf tin.
- Add your bicarbonate of soda to your dates and fill the bowl with your boiling water. Cover and leave to one side for about ten minutes.
- Cream together the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add in your eggs and the flour and combine well.
- Add in your dates, including the water, as well as your crushed walnuts. Ensure your batter is mixed well.
- Pour into your greased tin. You could sprinkle some more crushed walnuts on top and follow with a little dark muscovado sugar too.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. The cake should be springy to touch. Be careful not to overbake.
- Whilst the cake is in the oven, make the sticky toffee sauce.
Sticky Toffee Sauce
- Add the butter and sugar to a pan and heat. Stir until both have melted. Then add the double cream.
- Turn up the heat and bring to the boil, then simmer for a few minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Add the salt and stir.
To Finish
- Whilst the cake is still hot, poke holes all over with a thin skewer. Pour the sauce over the top - don’t be afraid to be generous! Leave some sauce aside for serving.
Notes
- Serving suggestion: cut in thick wedges/slabs and drizzle more sauce over it, then top with a scoop of clotted cream ice cream.
- The pudding can be kept for around 3-5 days, simply heat up both the pudding and leftover sauce before serving.