Sticky Toffee Pudding
Photo: Chalk and Cheese · CC BY 2.0

History

Sticky toffee pudding has disputed Northern English origins, with Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel in Cumbria claiming the modern recipe (chef Francis Coulson, 1970s) and several Lake District establishments contesting. The dish became a London restaurant fixture through the 1980s and 1990s; today it appears on virtually every British gastropub menu. The defining elements are the chopped dates, the treacle or molasses for depth, the toffee sauce from butter and brown sugar, and the warm-serve-with-cream finish. The Wolseley and St. John run benchmark versions.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 30 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • For the pudding: 250g pitted Medjool or Deglet Noor dates, finely chopped
  • 300ml boiling water
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 120g unsalted butter, very soft
  • 180g light brown muscovado sugar
  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 250g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp black treacle (molasses)
  • Pinch of fine sea salt
  • For the toffee sauce: 200g unsalted butter
  • 300g dark muscovado sugar (or light muscovado plus 1 tbsp molasses)
  • 300ml double cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 2 tbsp dark rum or whisky (optional, the modern restaurant addition)
  • To serve: 500ml double cream (lightly whipped) or 500ml good vanilla ice cream

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (150 fan). Butter a 25 by 18cm rectangular baking dish or 8 individual ramekins.
  2. Place the chopped dates in a heatproof bowl. Pour over the boiling water, add the bicarbonate of soda and vanilla. Stir; the mixture will foam slightly. Set aside 15 minutes to soften.
  3. Beat the soft butter and sugar in a stand mixer for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
  4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the treacle.
  5. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt; fold to combine.
  6. Tip in the soaked dates and all their soaking liquid; fold gently into a thick wet batter.
  7. Pour into the prepared baking dish (or ramekins).
  8. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes (or 22 to 25 minutes for ramekins) until a skewer comes out with just a few moist crumbs (not wet batter).
  9. While the pudding bakes, make the toffee sauce: combine the butter and muscovado sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat; whisk constantly until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves into a smooth caramel, about 5 minutes.
  10. Pour in the double cream (it will bubble vigorously; stand back), whisk to a smooth glossy sauce; simmer 3 minutes until the sauce thickens to coat a spoon.
  11. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla, salt and the optional rum or whisky. Keep warm.
  12. When the pudding is just out of the oven, use a skewer to make 20 deep poke-holes across the surface.
  13. Pour about a third of the warm toffee sauce over the pudding; let it soak in for 2 minutes.
  14. Cut into 8 squares (or unmould the ramekins).
  15. Plate each serving with a generous extra pour of warm toffee sauce on top and a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a heavy spoonful of whipped double cream alongside.
  16. Eat immediately while the pudding is warm and the sauce is glossy.

Tip from the editors. Use Medjool dates if possible; Deglet Noor work but are less sweet and require an extra tablespoon of sugar. The bicarbonate-of-soda step is structural; it tenderises the dates and gives the pudding its dark, almost gingerbread depth. The poke-and-soak step is non-negotiable; without it the toffee sauce only sits on top.

Where to eat sticky toffee pudding

Sticky Toffee Pudding in London

The Eagle ★ 4.3

££ GastropubClerkenwell

Britain's first gastropub on Farringdon Road in Clerkenwell London, opened 1991 by Mike Belben and David Eyre, still serves Mediterranean-leaning.

OrderThe Bife Ana steak sandwich, on the menu since 1991, and a pint of bitter.

TipWalk-in only. The chalkboard menu rewrites every day at 12:00; the best dishes go by 14:00 on a busy lunch.

Directions

The Camberwell Arms ★ 4.7

££ GastropubPeckham

Mike Davies's gastropub on Camberwell Church Street in south London, opened 2014, runs a daily-changing seasonal menu and a famous family-style Sunday roast.

OrderSunday roast for four (booked in advance), or whatever whole-animal cut is on weeknight dinner.

TipSunday lunch books a fortnight ahead and serves until they run out. The bar room takes walk-ins all evening.

Directions Book

Andrew Edmunds ★ 4.8

££ Modern EuropeanSoho

Andrew Edmunds's candlelit Lexington Street bistro in Soho London, opened 1985 by the print-dealer Edmunds, still the city's preferred Soho dining-room.

Why locals goA candlelit Georgian townhouse bistro hidden between the Soho tourist circuit and Carnaby Street since 1985, established by Londoners and missed by visitors.

TipBar seats at the front are released as walk-ins after 21:30. The handwritten daily menu does not appear online.

Directions

The Ritz 1 ★ ★ 4.1

££££ Tasting £170French fine diningMayfairChef John Williams

The Ritz Piccadilly dining room in Mayfair London, opened 1906 in Cesar Ritz's hotel, holds one Michelin star and runs classical French cooking.

OrderSole Veronique or the Beef Wellington carved tableside, with the cheese trolley to close.

Book8 weeks ahead

TipAfternoon tea in the Palm Court is the easier reservation; dinner books 8 weeks ahead with strict dress code.

Directions Book

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