Name: Sticky Toffee Pudding
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 130 g Medjool dates, stoned (finely chopped); 100 ml boiling water; 0.5 tsp vanilla extract; 100 g plain flour (type 405); 1.5 tsp baking powder (replaces the self-raising flour of the original); 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 1 egg; 50 g butter, softened (plus a little butter and flour for the moulds); 80 g brown sugar (demerara); 1 tbsp dark treacle (black treacle); 60 ml milk; 100 g light muscovado sugar; 30 g butter (in pieces); 130 ml double cream (divided into two halves); 2 tsp dark treacle (black treacle); cream or custard (to serve, if wanted)

Preparation

Put the chopped dates in a bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Leave to cool and infuse for about 30 minutes, then mash lightly with a fork and stir in the vanilla.
Preheat the oven to 180 °C conventional (160 °C fan). Grease four moulds of about 200 ml each with butter, dust with flour and put them on a baking tray.
Mix the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Whisk the egg in a separate bowl.
Beat the butter and demerara sugar for a few minutes until fluffy; the mixture stays slightly grainy because of the sugar. Gradually beat in the egg, then stir in the treacle.
Gently fold in the flour mixture in three portions, alternating with the milk in two portions, without overmixing. Finally stir in the dates; the batter looks slightly curdled and is a soft, thick pouring batter.
Divide the batter evenly among the moulds and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the puddings have risen and are firm.
While they bake, bring the muscovado sugar, butter and half the cream to the boil in a pan, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved completely. Stir in the treacle and boil over a higher heat for 2 to 3 minutes until a rich toffee colour, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat and stir in the remaining cream.
Leave the puddings to rest in the moulds for a few minutes, loosen with a small knife and turn out. Pour the warm sauce over and serve with cream or custard if you like. They get even stickier if they sit in the sauce for a day and are warmed, covered, at 180 °C for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Drink with it

Fortified wine · excellent match
Pedro Ximénez, tawny port or Malmsey Madeira, lightly chilled
Notes of raisin, fig and caramel sit right on the date and toffee, and the wine is at least as sweet as the dessert.
Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage
Aged rum · excellent match
Aged dark rum, neat or with an ice cube
Molasses, caramel and vanilla from the cask match the black treacle and muscovado of the sauce.
Drinking rum neat: how to get to know a bottling
Sherry-cask whisky · excellent match
Sherry-cask single malt (Oloroso), neat with a drop of water
In Scotland this is the whisky for sticky toffee pudding: raisin, date and toffee from the Oloroso cask sit right on the date sponge and caramel sauce, while oak spice and a dry finish provide a counterpoint to the sweetness.
What Does the Cask Do to Whisky?
Cognac and brandy · excellent match
VSOP or XO Cognac, neat, at room temperature
Caramel and toffee desserts are, alongside chocolate, among the favourite partners for aged Cognac: raisin, candied fruit and vanilla from the Limousin cask meet dates and muscovado, and the rancio note suits the caramelised sugar.
Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy
Sweet wine · good match
Tokaji Aszú
Apricot and honey complement the dates, and the high acidity stops the wine and toffee sauce together from feeling cloying.
Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberately

Preparation

Put the chopped dates in a bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Leave to cool and infuse for about 30 minutes, then mash lightly with a fork and stir in the vanilla.
Preheat the oven to 180 °C conventional (160 °C fan). Grease four moulds of about 200 ml each with butter, dust with flour and put them on a baking tray.
Mix the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Whisk the egg in a separate bowl.
Beat the butter and demerara sugar for a few minutes until fluffy; the mixture stays slightly grainy because of the sugar. Gradually beat in the egg, then stir in the treacle.
Gently fold in the flour mixture in three portions, alternating with the milk in two portions, without overmixing. Finally stir in the dates; the batter looks slightly curdled and is a soft, thick pouring batter.
Divide the batter evenly among the moulds and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the puddings have risen and are firm.
While they bake, bring the muscovado sugar, butter and half the cream to the boil in a pan, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved completely. Stir in the treacle and boil over a higher heat for 2 to 3 minutes until a rich toffee colour, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat and stir in the remaining cream.
Leave the puddings to rest in the moulds for a few minutes, loosen with a small knife and turn out. Pour the warm sauce over and serve with cream or custard if you like. They get even stickier if they sit in the sauce for a day and are warmed, covered, at 180 °C for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Drink with it

Fortified wine · excellent match
Pedro Ximénez, tawny port or Malmsey Madeira, lightly chilled
Notes of raisin, fig and caramel sit right on the date and toffee, and the wine is at least as sweet as the dessert.
Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage
Aged rum · excellent match
Aged dark rum, neat or with an ice cube
Molasses, caramel and vanilla from the cask match the black treacle and muscovado of the sauce.
Drinking rum neat: how to get to know a bottling
Sherry-cask whisky · excellent match
Sherry-cask single malt (Oloroso), neat with a drop of water
In Scotland this is the whisky for sticky toffee pudding: raisin, date and toffee from the Oloroso cask sit right on the date sponge and caramel sauce, while oak spice and a dry finish provide a counterpoint to the sweetness.
What Does the Cask Do to Whisky?
Cognac and brandy · excellent match
VSOP or XO Cognac, neat, at room temperature
Caramel and toffee desserts are, alongside chocolate, among the favourite partners for aged Cognac: raisin, candied fruit and vanilla from the Limousin cask meet dates and muscovado, and the rancio note suits the caramelised sugar.
Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy
Sweet wine · good match
Tokaji Aszú
Apricot and honey complement the dates, and the high acidity stops the wine and toffee sauce together from feeling cloying.
Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberately

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Preparation

Drink with it

Pedro Ximénez, tawny port or Malmsey Madeira, lightly chilled

Aged dark rum, neat or with an ice cube

Sherry-cask single malt (Oloroso), neat with a drop of water

VSOP or XO Cognac, neat, at room temperature

Tokaji Aszú

This pairs well too.

Chocolate Mousse (Mousse au Chocolat)

Chocolate Fondant with a Molten Centre (Fondant au chocolat)

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Sachertorte (Viennese chocolate cake)

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Preparation

Drink with it

Pedro Ximénez, tawny port or Malmsey Madeira, lightly chilled

Aged dark rum, neat or with an ice cube

Sherry-cask single malt (Oloroso), neat with a drop of water

VSOP or XO Cognac, neat, at room temperature

Tokaji Aszú

This pairs well too.

Chocolate Mousse (Mousse au Chocolat)

Chocolate Fondant with a Molten Centre (Fondant au chocolat)

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Sachertorte (Viennese chocolate cake)