Equipment
* optional
Ingredients
Date Paste
- 250 g medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
- 250 ml water, boiling
- 5 g baking soda
Sponge Batter
- 80 g unsalted butter, softened
- 100 g dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 60 g sour cream, room temperature
- 150 g all-purpose flour
- 8 g pumpkin pie spice
- 6 g baking powder
- 3 g salt
Self-Saucing Toffee Topping
- 150 g dark brown sugar
- 4 g pumpkin pie spice
- 300 ml water, boiling
- 40 g unsalted butter, melted
Garnish
- 100 g pecans
- 120 g sour cream, chilled, for serving
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 535 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbohydrates
- 73 g
- Fat
- 27 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 53 g
- Sodium
- 435 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 11 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 10 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 4 g
- Cholesterol
- 92 mg
- Potassium
- 390 mg
- Calcium
- 147 mg
- Iron
- 1.7 mg
- Magnesium
- 46 mg
- Phosphorus
- 139 mg
- Zinc
- 1.1 mg
- Vitamin A
- 153 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 1 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.3 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.8 mg
- Vitamin K
- 3 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.2 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.13 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.14 mg
- Niacin
- 1.0 mg
- Folate
- 21 mcg
- Water
- 107 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Place the pitted dates and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Pour 250ml of boiling water over them and let sit for 10 minutes to soften. Mash with a fork or pulse briefly in a food processor until it forms a chunky paste.
Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast in the preheated oven for 8 minutes until fragrant. Remove, allow to cool slightly, then roughly chop and set aside for the garnish.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and dark brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the sour cream and the prepared date paste.
Add the all-purpose flour, 8g of pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt to the wet mixture. Fold gently with a spatula until just combined. Spread the batter evenly into a lightly greased 2-liter baking dish.
Sprinkle the 150g of dark brown sugar and 4g of pumpkin pie spice evenly over the top of the unbaked sponge batter in the baking dish.
Combine the remaining 300ml of boiling water and 40g of melted butter. Hold a large spoon closely over the batter and gently pour the hot liquid over the back of the spoon, covering the sugar layer completely. Do not stir the mixture.
Carefully transfer the dish to the oven. Bake at 180C/350F for 35 to 40 minutes. The pudding is ready when the sponge has risen to the top, feels springy to the touch, and a bubbling toffee sauce has formed underneath.
Remove the pudding from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken slightly. Serve warm, scooping down to the bottom to get the sauce, and top with the toasted pecans and a generous dollop of cold sour cream.
Chef's Notes
- Pouring the boiling water over the back of a spoon is a critical technique. It disperses the water gently to prevent it from piercing holes into the sponge batter, ensuring the sauce forms properly beneath the cake during baking.
- The addition of sour cream in both the batter and as a garnish provides a subtle tang and supreme tenderness that perfectly balances the intense sweetness of the dates and self-saucing brown sugar syrup.
- For the deepest caramel notes, be sure to use dark brown sugar rather than light brown. The extra molasses content is essential for achieving that authentic sticky toffee flavor profile.
- If making ahead, you can bake the pudding completely, allow it to cool, and store it in the refrigerator. Reheat individual portions in the microwave for 30 seconds; the sauce will magically loosen up again.
Storage
Refrigerator: 5 days — Cover tightly with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container.
Freezer: 1 month — Freeze completely cooled pudding in airtight containers. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Reheating: Microwave individual portions for 30-45 seconds, or reheat the entire covered dish in a 160C oven for 20 minutes until warm and bubbling.
Troubleshooting
Pudding lacks sauce underneath the sponge
Cause: The oven temperature was too high or it was baked for too long, causing the liquid to evaporate entirely.
Fix: Serve with warm heavy cream or a quick batch of stovetop caramel sauce to compensate for the missing liquid.
Prevention: Check oven calibration and start checking the pudding at the 30-minute mark, removing it as soon as the center sponge springs back.
Sauce is overly watery and thin
Cause: The pudding was underbaked or served immediately without being given time to rest.
Fix: Allow the pudding to sit at room temperature for another 10 to 15 minutes to allow the starches to absorb more liquid.
Prevention: Ensure the sponge is fully set before removing from the oven, and strictly adhere to the 10-minute resting period.
Cultural Context
Sticky toffee pudding is a beloved modern British classic, widely believed to have originated in the 1970s at the Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel in Cumbria. By marrying this iconic flavor profile with the traditional British and Australian technique of a self-saucing pudding, this dessert delivers maximum comfort with minimal active effort, making it highly popular during cold winter months and festive Christmas gatherings.
