Skip to main content

Recipes Nugget Markets Signature Recipes

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Prep time
20 minutes PT20M
Cook time
1 hour PT1H
Yield
8 servings
Difficulty
2 out of 5 on the difficulty scale
Sticky Toffee Pudding Nugget Markets signature recipes

Dates! Spices! Butter! And… decadent, luscious toffee cream! Easy to make and easy to eat, this warm dessert sticks to the soul.

Ingredients

Pudding:

  • 5 Medjool dates, pitted
  • ⅔ cup warm water
  • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 cups self-rising flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • ⅔ cup brandy-soaked mixed candied fruit

Toffee Sauce:

  • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ⅔ cup light brown sugar
  • 1¼ cups heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon molasses

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F.

To make the pudding, add the dates to a small bowl with ⅔ cup warm water. Let soak for 10 minutes then rough chop.

Cream the butter and light brown sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the egg and beat well. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice, and mix well.

Add the candied fruit and dates together with their liquid, and mix until well combined.

Butter and flour a 1-quart pudding mold, add the mixture and bake for 50–60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Let cool for 10 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the edges to get the pudding out and cool on a wire rack. 

To make the sauce, add the butter and sugar to a pan set over a medium heat. Allow the butter to melt, then add the cream, vanilla extract and molasses and mix well. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Pour ⅓ of the sauce over the pudding and reserve the rest for service.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Lore:

Pudding over the pond isn’t like ours —there, it’s largely slang for “dessert” nowadays. And it isn’t silky or custardy, either! In England, cake- or bread-based sweets laden with sauce are something that seems to have always been around. Sticky toffee pudding, though, is actually relatively new, and attempting to trace its origins can get... well, sticky.

It has a special connection to the Lake District of Northwest England, but rumor has it that it was invented in the 1940s by... wait for it... Canadians?! As the story goes, during WWII, two Canadian Air Force officers shared an earlier version of the recipe with a British hotel manager, and the toffee sauce may have originally been maple. No matter who you have to thank for this warming, sumptuous dessert, it’s sure to become a classic in your own home.