Recipes
Sticky toffee pudding with date toffee sauce and vanilla custard
A British classic. Soft, moist date sponge drenched in rich toffee sauce and served with homemade vanilla custard. Inspired by Ben Mervis’ Sticky Toffee Recipe from The British Cook Book, comfort food doesn’t get much better than this.
Serves
8–10
For the sticky toffee pudding
Ingredients
-
250 g pitted dates, roughly chopped
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300 ml boiling water
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1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
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175 g light brown sugar
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175 g self-raising flour
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2 large eggs
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175 g unsalted butter, melted
Method
Place the dates in a bowl and pour over the boiling water. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda.
Cover with cling film and a tea towel, then leave to soak for 30–45 minutes until the dates are soft and plump.
Transfer the soaked dates and soaking liquid to a blender.
Add the brown sugar, self-raising flour, eggs and melted butter.
Blend until smooth.
Lightly grease individual silicone pudding moulds or a baking tin.
Fill each mould around two-thirds full, allowing room for the puddings to rise.
Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C fan/180°C conventional/gas mark 4 for 30–35 minutes, or until risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Allow to cool slightly before removing from the moulds.
Sticky toffee sauce
Ingredients
-
200 g dark brown sugar
-
250 ml double cream
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75 g unsalted butter
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1 tbsp cornflour
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2 tbsp cold water
Method
Place the dark brown sugar, double cream and butter in a saucepan.
Bring to a gentle boil over a medium heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
Remove from the heat and allow to rest for a few minutes.
Mix the cornflour with the cold water to form a smooth slurry.
Return the sauce to the heat and whisk in the cornflour mixture.
Simmer for 1–2 minutes until thickened and glossy.
Vanilla custard
Ingredients
-
300 ml whole milk
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300 ml double cream
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1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
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4 egg yolks
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50 g caster sugar
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1 tbsp cornflour
Method
Place the milk, cream and vanilla pod in a saucepan.
Bring gently to the boil, then remove from the heat.
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour until smooth.
Gradually pour the hot cream mixture onto the egg mixture, whisking continuously.
Return everything to the saucepan.
Cook over a low heat, whisking constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Remove from the heat immediately and strain if desired.
To serve
Place a warm sticky toffee pudding in the centre of each bowl. Pour over plenty of sticky toffee sauce and finish with a generous helping of warm vanilla custard.
Chef's tip
For the best flavour, use a whole vanilla pod rather than extract. A quality vanilla pod adds depth, warmth and natural sweetness that elevates homemade custard and enhances the rich caramel notes of sticky toffee pudding.
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