The Best Sticky Toffee Pudding

Never has a cake been so well received by family than this one.  I always get a few moans and groans about how unhealthy my hobby is from family members but on this occasion I simply got praise on how amazing this cake was - people just couldn’t stop from going to get seconds (and thirds!).  This is the cake you oooh and aaah over after tasting rather than seeing.

My family do appreciate my cakes, but can become a little overwhelmed at the frequency with which I provide these high-fat high-sugar goods.  Consequently most have joined the gym or taken up either lifting weights, cycling or doing the hula hoop (the latter my little sister does for almost 2 hours a day which is impressive don’t you think?).  In a certain twisted way, my frequent baking has made my family healthier – or that’s what I like to think anyway!

This has to be the best STP recipe out there – I mean it can’t get more amazing than this.  The cake was very soft and indulgent with a lovely warm toffee taste from the dates.  The sauce was comfortly warming and sweet – only thing I would change next time is to completely omit the black treacle to make the sauce more purely toffee-like (or as my sister puts it, ‘more like Werthers Originals')

I adapted the recipe by adding in a mixture of spelt as well as self-raising flour, adding in about ¼ tsp of cinnamon as well as the mixed spice and using golden granulated instead of golden caster sugar (as I didn’t have any of the latter).  

I also used a completely different sauce recipe, the quantities of which I ‘guesstimated’ based on numerous other toffee sauce recipes.  What I realised immediately was that the sauce which came with this recipe just wouldn’t be enough – and I was right.  Using the quantities I did, the sauce was just enough for this cake (mind you we do dollop quite a large amount on top).

Stick Toffee Pudding (from here)

·         200g dates , stoned and chopped

·         250ml black tea

·         ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

·         85g unsalted butter, softened

·         175g golden granulated sugar

·         2 eggs

·         150g self-raising flour

·         25g spelt flour

·         1 tsp mixed spice

·         ¼ tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 180C, prepare a square 8” cake tin.

Boil the dates in the tea for about 4 minutes to soften, then take off the heat and add in the bicarbonate of soda (it will fizz).

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy, then add in the eggs, beating well after each to fully incorporate.

Combine the flours, cinnamon and mixed spice together and add to the butter mixture.  Beat until just combined, then add in the date mixture and fold in well.

Pour into your prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until it passes the skewer test (be your own judge on this – everyone’s oven is different).

Sticky Toffee Sauce

·         200g light muscavado sugar

·         75g butter

·         350ml double cream

·         1 tbsp golden syrup

·         1 tbsp black treacle (optional)

Melt the sugar, butter and about 200ml of the cream in a pan over medium-low heat.

Allow to bubble until all the sugar has melted.  Add in the golden syrup and treacle and simmer for another 2 minutes.

Take off the heat and add in the rest of the cream.  Serve