Sticky toffee-style pudding without the dates
A dark syrup-sweetened sponge under a butterscotch sauce, no dates in sight
Doubles into four ramekins on the same tray, with the sauce doubled too. The sponges keep two days in a tin and the sauce three days covered in the fridge. Warm both through before eating.
Sticky toffee pudding owes its dark colour and its stickiness to dates, blitzed into the batter until they disappear. Dates are exactly the kind of thing this book has to leave out, all skin and no give, so this version rebuilds the same flavour from dark soft brown sugar and golden syrup instead, both of which behave the same way in a hot oven without leaving anything for a narrowed gut to manage. The sponge still comes out dark and dense, and the sauce, made in the same few minutes the puddings take to bake, still pools around the base and soaks into the top the way the original always did. Pour the sauce on while both are still hot. It sinks into the sponge rather than sitting on it, and that is most of what makes the dish work.
Ingredients
Contains: Gluten, Egg, Milk
For the sponge
- 50 gunsalted butter, softened, plus a little extra for greasing
- 50 gdark soft brown sugar
- 2 tbspgolden syrup
- 1egg
- 75 gself-raising white flour
- 2 tbspwhole milk
- 0.5 tspvanilla extract
For the toffee sauce
- 50 gunsalted butter
- 50 gdark soft brown sugar
- 100 mldouble cream
- 1 tbspgolden syrup — optional
Method
Heat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C). Butter two 200 ml ramekins generously, right up to the rim, and set them on a baking tray.
Beat the 50 g of softened butter and 50 g of brown sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes with an electric whisk or a wooden spoon and some effort.
Beat in the golden syrup, then the egg, until smooth. Fold in the flour, then loosen the mixture with the milk and vanilla until it drops easily off a spoon.
Divide the mixture between the ramekins, filling them no more than two-thirds full so there is room to rise. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until risen and the sponge springs back when you press it lightly.
While the puddings bake, put the remaining 50 g of butter, 50 g of brown sugar, the cream and the extra golden syrup, if using, in a small pan over a low heat. Stir until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved, then bring to a gentle simmer for 2 minutes until glossy and slightly thickened.
Leave the puddings to settle for 2 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and turn them out onto plates, or leave them in the ramekins. Pour the warm toffee sauce generously over the top while both are still hot.
Watch-points
- No dates anywhere in this version. Their skins are tough and do not break down, so the sweetness and colour here come from dark sugar and golden syrup instead.
- Use self-raising white flour only, not a wholemeal or spelt blend.
Make it more nourishing
- Add an extra tablespoon of double cream to the sauce, or stir 30 g of mascarpone into it once off the heat.
- Serve 50 g of plain vanilla ice cream alongside. It melts into the sauce and adds about 100 kcal.
- Whisk a tablespoon of skimmed milk powder into the sponge batter along with the milk.
Swaps
- Instead of dark soft brown sugar, use light brown sugar
- a paler, milder pudding if you do not want the very dark colour
- Instead of double cream in the sauce, use single cream
- a slightly thinner sauce that still pours well