This insanely delicious British dessert is rumored to have originated during the late 20 th century
in the Lake District of northwest England. Its warmth and dense flavor was surely appreciated
during cold winter months. It combines the rich flavor of dates and caramel with hints of coffee
swirled in. Despite the name it is really a moist date based sponge cake, smothered in toffee
sauce and topped of with fresh homemade whipped cream. If you’re more of a minimalist or
looking to shave off some calories you can skip the toffee sauce and/or the whipped cream. The
sponge is a delight just by itself and accompanies coffee or tea really well.

Ingredients (Sticky Toffee Pudding)

Cake

  • 8 oz soft dates, pitted and finely chopped
  • 1 cup hot coffee
  • 1 ½  cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 4 tsp salt
  • 6 tbsp salted butter
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Toffee Sauce

  • ½ cup  unsalted butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp salt/sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla

Method

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 25-30 min

Serves 15-20

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9 in square/circle pan.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together the chopped dates and coffee and set aside. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, for later.
  3. Cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla and beat for several minutes. Stir in the flour mixture, followed by the date mixture; I recommend folding these ingredients to avoid over-mixing, causing a dry cake.
  4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. After taking the cake out, pierce the cake multiple times using a skewer, allowing for the toffee sauce to absorb later.
  5. To prepare the toffee sauce, combine the butter, brown sugar and cream in a saucepan over medium-heat.
  6. Stir the mixture constantly until it boils; then reduce the flame and boil for five minutes to increase the thickness.
  7. Add the salt and vanilla. Pour the (hot) toffee sauce over the cake, reserving some for topping. Serve the cake warm with more sauce or some homemade whipped cream.
  8. Enjoy!