This Sticky Date Pudding is one I have been making for years. This recipe was given to me by a friend and it has been tried and tested many times. It really is one of my favourite desserts!
This dessert is also known as Sticky Toffee Pudding in the UK. It is a delicious and moist pudding-like cake that has a sweet caramel sauce poured over it. Served with a good quality vanilla ice-cream, it really is one of the best desserts and particularly good in the cooler months. It can be served with cream, however our favourite way to eat it is with ice-cream as the contrast of cold ice-cream and warm pudding is such a treat! I sometimes like to add freshness in the way of fruit and fresh figs are a great choice when they are in season.
Why I love this recipe:
While this is a dessert recipe, a bonus is you can also choose to bake the cake only without the caramel sauce and have it as a Date Cake. It can be cut and served as is, or with a spread of butter during the day or with a cuppa. The cake itself is beautifully moist with great flavour.
Another reason I love this recipe is that the cake and sauce are very easy to make and both can be made up a day (even 2 days) in advance and simply reheated before serving, making this an ideal dessert when entertaining.
Ingredients to make this recipe:
- Dried Dates – you can use normal or Medjool dates for this recipe. You can also use dried figs or dried Jujube (a red Chinese date) instead of dates if you prefer.
- Baking Soda – this is added to the dates along with boiling water and left to soak for 30 minutes at the very start. The baking soda helps to soften the dates as well as lighten the texture of the cake.
- Boiling Water – used to soak the dates and once soaked, the dates including the liquid, is added to the cake.
- Butter – salted or unsalted butter is fine.
- Brown Sugar – used in both the cake and the caramel sauce.
- Eggs – try and use room temperature eggs in all your bakes. It helps avoid any splitting of the batter.
- Self-raising flour – sifted. You can use gluten-free self-raising flour.
- Cream – pouring or thin cream is preferable, however I have made this many times with thickened cream and it is fine.
- Vanilla Extract
Step by step Instructions:
Firstly the dates, baking soda and boiling water are added to a bowl and left to soak for 30 minutes. 
While the dates are soaking, the softened butter and brown sugar are placed in a large bowl and creamed together using a hand-held beater. 
Once the butter and sugar are creamed together, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Note: Not much butter is used so the mix won’t be very creamy. You can see here my butter was a little too firm but this recipe is very forgiving! Once the first egg is incorporated, it will be a creamy consistency. 
The second egg is added. 
Both eggs have now been incorporated. If your mixture splits a little, don’t worry, it doesn’t affect this bake. 
The flour is now sifted into the creamed butter mixture and folded through. 
The soaked dates (including all the liquid) is now added and folded through until mixed together. 
The batter is poured into the prepared baking tin and baked in a pre-heated 170°C (340°F) oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer poked into the middle of the cake comes out clean. 
Remove from the oven and allow to rest in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out. Use straight away or turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips and Important Notes for success:
- Before starting the recipe, make sure your butter is softened. It should be very soft when you press on it. Also use room temperature eggs.
- Chop your dates first and get them soaking for 30 minutes, and in the meantime you can prepare the baking pan and start prepping other parts of the recipe. To save time, I sometimes chop my dates the night before and leave them in a sealed container.
- When creaming the butter and sugar, the ratio of sugar to butter is high, so it won’t be as creamy as recipes using more butter. Also if your mixture splits a little when adding the eggs, don’t worry as it doesn’t affect the outcome of this cake. It is a very forgiving recipe.
- To avoid using an extra bowl, I sift my flour directly into my creamed butter and sugar mixture.
- The caramel sauce and cake can both be made a day in advance (even up to 2 days) and kept covered in the fridge.
- This cake is also suitable to freeze for up to 3 months. When freezing cakes, I like to cover them in baking paper, then add a layer of tin foil to completely enclose the cake. I then place it into a sealed container or freezer bag and freeze.
- This recipe is for a 20cm round cake, however it can be made in a 20cm square tin or even in individual muffin tins or pudding moulds. You will need to reduce the cooking time for the smaller size to say 25-30 minutes.
More dessert recipes for you to try:
Servings: 8
Calories: 465kcal
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Heat-proof bowl
- 20cm (8in) Cake Tin
- small saucepan
- Hand-held Beater
Ingredients
Cake:
- 185 g dried dates pitted and chopped into small pieces
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 250 ml boiling water (1 cup)
- 50 g butter softened
- 150 g brown sugar (3/4 cup)
- 2 eggs, large
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 185 g self-raising flour (1 1/4 cups) sifted
Caramel Sauce:
- 150 g brown sugar (3/4 cup)
- 250 ml pouring cream (1 cup) or thickened cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 25 g butter salted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170° (340°F) and grease and line a 20cm round cake tin with butter and baking paper.
- Place the chopped dates, baking soda and boiling water into a heat-proof bowl or jug, stir and set aside for 30 minutes to come to room temperature.
- While the dates are soaking, add the soft butter and brown sugar into a large bowl and cream together using a hand-held beater or whisk. Beat until pale. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth (make sure the first egg is mixed through before adding the second egg). Sift the flour directly over the top of the mixture and gently fold through with a large spoon. When the flour is almost all fully incorporated, add the date mixture (including the liquid), and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the lined baking tin and place into the preheated oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to rest in the tin for 10 minutes before removing. The cake can be used straight away or if using later, turn it out onto a wire resting rack to cool completely.
Caramel Sauce:
- Place all the ingredients into a small saucepan and place on the stovetop over a low heat. Stir until the butter has melted completely and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Use straight away or allow to cool and refrigerate for use later.
To Serve:
- There are two options to serve this pudding:1. As a whole pudding: Place the warm cake on a serving plate and pour enough of the warm caramel sauce over the top so it covers the top of the cake and drips down the sides a little (use a jug to do this). Place fresh fruit in a pile on top of the cake or serve alongside (optional). Serve slices with ice-cream or cream and the remaining caramel sauce (for people to add more if they like).2. To serve individually: Slice the cake into serving size wedges and place on individual plates. Place a scoop of ice-cream on top and pour the warm caramel sauce over the top. Serve with fruit (optional) and extra caramel sauce in a jug for people to add more if they wish.
To Reheat Cake and Sauce:
- Cover the cake loosely with a piece of aluminium foil and reheat in a preheated 160°C (320°F) oven for approximately 10 minutes (or until warmed through) or:Place individual portions on plates and reheat them individually or in groups of two, in the microwave for approximately 20 seconds.The sauce can be reheated over a gentle heat in a saucepan (stirring) or in the microwave in 30 seconds bursts (stirring in between) 2-3 times or until warm.
Notes
You can add a pinch of salt to the caramel sauce if you want to make it a salted caramel sauce.
Make sure your baking soda is not out of date!
Tips and Important Notes for success:
- Before starting the recipe, make sure your butter is softened. It should be very soft when you press on it. Also use room temperature eggs.
- Chop your dates first and get them soaking for 30 minutes, and in the meantime you can prepare the baking pan and start prepping other parts of the recipe. To save time, I sometimes chop my dates the night before and leave them in a sealed container.
- When creaming the butter and sugar, the ratio of sugar to butter is high, so it won’t be as creamy as recipes using more butter. Also if your mixture splits a little when adding the eggs, don’t worry as it doesn’t affect the outcome of this cake. It is a very forgiving recipe.
- To avoid using an extra bowl, I sift my flour directly into my creamed butter and sugar mixture.
- The caramel sauce and cake can both be made a day in advance (even up to 2 days) and kept covered in the fridge.
- This cake is also suitable to freeze for up to 3 months. When freezing cakes, I like to cover them in baking paper, then add a layer of tin foil to completely enclose the cake. I then place it into a sealed container or freezer bag and freeze.
- This recipe is for a 20cm round cake, however it can be made in a 20cm square tin or even in individual muffin tins or pudding moulds. You will need to reduce the cooking time for the smaller size to say 25-30 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 465kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 243mg | Potassium: 269mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 51g | Vitamin A: 613IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 1mg
Have you cooked one of my recipes? I’d love you to tag me @katysfoodfinds or #katysfoodfinds!
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