A classic favorite in restaurants and pubs across the UK
Whenever I’m in Café Juanita, I always order sticky toffee pudding for dessert, unless I’m otherwise waylaid by the halo-halo or the leche flan. Café Juanita is one of the very few restaurants in Manila where you can order this scrumptious dessert.
Said to have been invented in England in the 1970s (its origin is still disputed), sticky toffee (or sticky date) pudding, as its name implies, is made with roughly chopped dates baked in a mélange of flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. This delightful concoction is further enhanced with a pouring of rich, gooey caramel (or butterscotch) sauce—and for the more daring, a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream on the side. It has since become a classic favorite in restaurants and pubs across the UK.
On a recent trip to London, I made sure to order sticky date pudding whenever it was on the menu. At the Andover Arms, where we had the traditional Sunday Roast, our group of four ordered one pudding to share, thinking we’d all have just a bite. Famous last words. The pudding was so delectable, so enticing, so rich we soon finished every luscious spoonful, scooping up every last drop of the caramel sauce and looking longingly at the plate when it was soon emptied of its decadent contents.
Back in Manila, I decided to make my own sticky date pudding. These days, instead of perusing a cookbook when looking for a recipe, I turn to YouTube, and sure enough, I readily find an abundance of recipes for sticky date pudding. I watched several cooking demos and found most of them useful. However, I settled on the recipe done by RecipeTin Eats, which had the clearest and least complicated instructions (it has 436,000 views).
With a few adjustments, I made the recipe and was delighted to find success at my first try. Here, for readers who want to have a taste of this classic English dessert, is a recipe for English sticky date toffee pudding. Bon appetit.
Sticky Date Pudding
For the dates:
- 1 cup pitted (seedless) dates
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup boiling water
- For the batter:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 6 Tablespoons softened butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
For the caramel sauce:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 5 Tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 cups thickened cream or whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To serve:
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease an 8-inch square pan (or similar size) with shortening or butter, or spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment or nonstick baking paper, leaving about one-inch overhanging on the sides (for easier removal of the pudding later).
Prepare the dates: If using dates with seeds, remove the seeds. Chop the dates roughly and put them in a heatproof dish. Sprinkle baking soda over the dates then pour in the boiling water. Let the dates soak in the water for about 10 minutes. Set aside.
Make the batter: In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the sugar and butter until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift the flour then add the baking powder.
On medium speed beat the flour and baking powder mixture into the egg mixture until well combined (do not overbeat). Add the dates, including the liquid in which it was soaked. Mix on low or medium speed until the dates are well incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Prick the surface of the cake all over with a fork or with the tip of a skewer. Lift the pudding out of the pan (using the parchment paper overhang) and transfer to a serving platter. Pour in about one-half cup of the caramel sauce and set aside to cool.
To make the caramel sauce: In a saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, cream and vanilla extract. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, stirring frequently until the mixture is smooth and starts to thicken. Remove from the heat (the caramel will thicken further as it cools). Pour one-half cup of this sauce over the pudding. Serve the remaining caramel sauce with the pudding. If desired, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream beside each individual serving.