Sticky Toffee Pudding
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Sticky, gooey and spongy with a luxuriously delicious toffee flavor, this Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe is made from scratch and one bite of it will have you hooked for life! I lived in England for 7 years and this was one of my most favorite desserts. We go back every year and I never pass up the opportunity to have it at least once – or twice. A quintessential British classic, I’m confident you’re going to love this homemade sticky toffee pudding as much as I do!

What is Sticky Toffee Pudding?
Sticky Toffee Pudding is a classic British dessert consisting of a moist brown sugar sponge cake made with chopped dates and is served drizzled with toffee sauce. Add a dollop of whipped cream, a drizzle of vanilla custard, or some vanilla ice cream and you have total dessert perfection. This cake is also popular in Australia and New Zealand where it’s known as sticky date pudding.
Dessert just doesn’t get any better than this! Unlike many of the other very old, traditional British recipes I’ve published, this one is a modern classic. Though thought to have originated more “recently” in the 1940’s, Sticky Toffee Pudding quickly became a popular dessert and today this date sponge cake drizzled with toffee sauce stands as one of Great Britain’s most iconic and beloved desserts.
Where Did It Originate?
While Francis Coulson is commonly credited as having created it in the 1960’s at his Sharrow Bay Country House in the Lake District of England (where he was the first to make and sell it commercially), sticky toffee pudding’s origins go back a few decades earlier. Though there is some debate as to its exact origins, food historians believe it was first introduced by Patricia Martin, a hotel manager in Lancashire, in the 1940’s. Francis Coulson years later during an interview admitted that Mrs. Martin had given him the recipe and that he made some slight adaptations. So where did Mrs. Martin get it? It is believed that the recipe was shared with Mrs. Martin by two Canadian soldiers who were staying at her hotel during World War II. Years later her son reported that his mother had received it from a “Canadian friend.” In either case the finger points to Canada.
A Canadian origin makes sense because sticky toffee pudding is not like most other traditional dessert “puddings” in the British sense of the word. It isn’t steamed like Spotted Dick or Christmas Pudding, it isn’t baked in a pudding mold (it’s usually a sheet cake), and its batter is more like an American muffin than a traditional English sponge. Sticky Toffee Pudding is also very similar to its Australian cousin, Sticky Date Pudding, which is also excellent.
In any case, having cherished it as a favorite national dessert for nearly 80 years and spreading its fame across the world, I think England has earned the right to celebrate Sticky Toffee Pudding as a quintessential British dessert. So to our Canadian friends we say “THANK YOU” for creating this delectable dessert and to our British friends for making it famous!
And of course in the end all the really matters is that this dessert is absolutely incredible and you absolutely must make it – pronto!
I was first introduced to Sticky Toffee Pudding when I lived in England. During those 7 wonderful years I was introduced to a great many things that I fell in love with, and sticky toffee pudding was one of them. My husband likewise lived in the UK for a couple of years as a young man and had this dessert many times, though only the store-bought versions. He’s been asking me for years to make him some and when I finally did he was in absolute heaven. We’re confident you’re going to love it, too!
Cartmel: Home of “The Best Sticky Toffee Pudding in the World”
This past Summer we took our kids on a 3-week vacation to Great Britain where we toured Scotland, Wales and England. One of our stops in the Lake District was the ancient village of Cartmel. And we went there for a very specific (and delicious) reason.
Besides being famous for its 12th century priory, Cartmel is also home to what they claim is “The Best Sticky Toffee Pudding in the World.”
The Cartmel Village Shop (below left) is delightfully quaint with a variety of delicious treats and gift items. They also make and sell handmade puddings made with 100% all-natural ingredients. You can choose from a variety of flavors including Sticky Ginger Pudding, Sticky Banana Pudding, Sticky Chocolate Pudding, Sticky Toffee Apple Crumble, Christmas Pudding, Lemon Drizzle Pudding and, of course, Sticky Toffee Pudding. We grabbed a Lemon Drizzle and Sticky Toffee Pudding and were very eager to dive in.
Once we got to our vacation cottage we heated it up, took it outside on the deck, and all four of us went at it with spoons, scooping it up with such vigor that scarcely a crumb or drop remained after 3 minutes. So good!
When we got back home from our vacation I went to work replicating Cartmel’s delicious sticky toffee pudding in my own kitchen. In my version you will experience a wonderfully flavorful, tender, slightly chewy and moist date-infused cake with a mouthwatering toffee sauce. Give it a try – we think it’s destined to become a regular part of your dessert lineup!
Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe
Let’s get started!
For this recipe you get to decide the shape of your cake.
For a fun and attractive presentation we’re making individual sticky toffee puddings using a king-sized/jumbo muffin pan. Alternatively, you can also bake it in a 8×8 inch cake pan (or slightly bigger) and just bake it a few minutes longer. Pour some of the toffee sauce over the cake (broil it briefly in the oven until bubbly if desired), cut and serve with extra toffee sauce on the side.
Preheat the oven 350 degrees F.
Coarsely chop the dates and place them in a bowl. Pour the boiling water over them and stir in the baking soda. Let the dates soak until cooled down. Using an immersion blender or placing them in a regular blender, puree the dates to make a chunky-smooth mixture (don’t puree it completely smooth).
In a large mixing bowl, cream the brown sugar and butter until smooth and pale.
Beat in the eggs and oil.
Add the black treacle and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Gradually beat in the flour mixture just until combined.
Add the chunky date puree and beat just until combined.
Generously butter an 8×8 inch baking pan. Spoon the batter into the pan, using the back of the spoon to smooth the top.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Alternatively, butter a jumbo/king-sized muffin pan (holds roughly 1 cup).
Spoon the batter in until about 2/3 full. Bake on the middle rack for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool for a few minutes in the tins and then remove and place them on wire rack.
OPTIONAL: For a more caramelized and moist cake, add about 2 teaspoons of brown sugar and 1/4 tablespoon of butter in the bottom of the cake pan or each muffin mold before spooning in the batter. We highly recommend it!
Additionally, for an extra moist cake you can brush the cake with a little toffee sauce while the cake is still warm to allow it to absorb some of the sauce.
While the puddings are baking, prepare the English Toffee Sauce (this can also be made in advance and reheated).
Homemade English Toffee Sauce (click link for recipe)
Serve the puddings topped with the English Toffee Sauce and, if desired, some vanilla ice cream, vanilla custard, or a dollop of whipped cream.
Enjoy!
Whether you’re serving it in square or muffin form, I promise you will! :)
For more delicious British and Irish treats try my:
- Treacle Tart
- Lardy Cake
- Spotted Dick
- Eccles Cakes
- Chelsea Buns
- Scottish Shortbread
- Millionaire’s Shortbread
- Hot Cross Buns
- Cornish Fairings
- Welsh Cakes
- Parkin
- Bara Brith
- Barmbrack
- Mince Pie
- Lemon Curd
- Victoria Sponge Cake
- Golden Syrup
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Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients
- 6 ounces pitted dried dates , roughly chopped (for best flavor we recommend medjool dates)
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar (this is a very sweet cake, I prefer to reduce it to 1/2 cup)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter , softened at room temperature
- 2 large eggs , at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon neutral tasting oil (eg, avocado or canola)
- 1 tablespoon black treacle (can substitute dark molasses)
- 1 teaspoon quality pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Homemade English Toffee Sauce , for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Coarsely chop the dates and place them in a bowl. Pour the boiling water over them and stir in the baking soda. Let the dates soak until cooled down. Using an immersion blender or placing them in a regular blender, puree the dates to make a chunky-smooth mixture (don't puree it completely smooth).
- In a large mixing bowl cream the brown sugar and butter until smooth and pale. Beat in the eggs and oil. Add the black treacle and vanilla extract and beat until combined.In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually beat in the flour mixture into the wet mixture just until combined. Add the chunky date puree and beat just until combined.
- Generously butter a jumbo/king-sized muffin pan (holds roughly 1 cup). Spoon the batter in until about 2/3 full. Bake the cakes on the middle rack for about 25 minutes (about 40 minutes if using the 8×8 inch cake pan – SEE NOTE) or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool for a few minutes in the tins and then remove and place them on wire rack.Optional: For a more caramelized and moist cake, add about 2 teaspoons of brown sugar and 1/4 tablespoon butter in the bottom of each muffin mold before spooning in the batter (see blog post pictures). We highly recommend it!Additionally, for an extra moist cake you can brush the cake with a little toffee sauce while the cake is still warm to allow it to absorb some of the sauce. Serve drizzled with the warm English Toffee Sauce and if desired some vanilla ice cream, vanilla custard, or some whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet December 30, 2018
Thank you for the recipe. It would be great if cup measurements were shown in grams or ounces. Cup amounts vary because of different densities of ingredients
Hi Edgar, to the right of the ingredients list you’ll see “US Customary” and “Metric.” If you click on “Metric” it will convert the measurements to grams. Happy baking!
I just discovered your website, and plan to make this delicious dessert. I’m sure it will be wonderful. But I had to mention that my first experience with Sticky Toffee Pudding was at the Mile Castle Inn, just outside of Haltwhistle, after tramping through the snow to visit the Roman ruins of Hadrian’s Wall. Thawing out with mouthfuls of this fabulous concoction was the equivalent of Heaven for me!
What a wonderful experience, Kathryn, and Heaven indeed! I’m so happy you found my site and hope you enjoy the recipe! :)
Loved it was so delishes family loved also it
Wonderful, thanks so much, Eleanor!
Hi Kimberly,
I am anxious to try this recipie.I bought a bag of 8oz chopped dates and was wondering if they would work. Would I still pour boiling water over them and would they have to go in a blender. I can easily measure out 6 oz. Just wasnt sure if they would work already being chopped in small pieces.
Know you must be busy but if you can get back with me I’d really appreciate it!
Cheers and Merry Christmas!
Hi Fiona, absolutely, that’s no problem at all. Yes, you will still follow the same method of pouring boiling water over them and placing them in a blender. Merry Christmas!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I’m going to make it for Christmas dinner.
I was wondering—what about poking holes in the cakes with a toothpick or skewer, before pouring toffee sauce over them? Would some of the sauce seep in, do you think?
And, any reason I couldn’t add a shot of whiskey or bourbon to the sodden sauce?
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Jeff, yes you can poke holes into them to allow the sauce to seep in. And no reason at all you can’t add a shot to the sauce :)
Will this hold if made the day before and heat the toffee sauce and custard? How to store leftovers, only 3 of us eating.
Hi Amanda, yes it will. If the toffee sauce separates after being stored in the fridge simply add a little bit of water and gently reheat it on the stove while whisking constantly and it un-separate and come together again. The pudding/cake can be reheated in the microwave. For storing you can keep the pudding in the fridge – wrap it so that it doesn’t dry out.
Second recipe I’ve tried from this site and it did not disappoint. A beautiful STP which I will make again and again. Thank you!
Fantastic, Ian, thanks so much!
I made this last night – delicious! And not at all difficult to make. The only thing that took some effort was buying the Treacle, which I found on Amazon. And yes, do invest in a quality brand of vanilla. This was a total hit at my dinner table. Served with the toffee sauce and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum.
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it, Mai, thank you!
This is seriously making me hungry!
I am drooling over this pudding. Looks fabulous!
What a sweet and fun recipe! This will be perfect on ice cream too! Delish!
What a great recipe to cure my sweet tooth! Easy and delicious too! Yum!
So yummy – loved the English Toffee sauce!
I love this pudding/cake- it’s perfect and delicious!
So delicious and easy to follow – we were blown away by the flavor!