Sticky Date Pudding! Also known as sticky toffee pudding, is a moist cake made with dates and covered in homemade butterscotch sauce whilst still warm. It’s a household favourite at dessert time and an absolute classic recipe which I’m sure many of you have enjoyed at some point. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream to level up that decadence.
What is Sticky Date Pudding?
Sticky date pudding is a family favourite and a dessert pudding that you will often see on the menu at restaurants and cafes. The cake is simple to make with basic cake ingredients such as butter, sugar, flour and eggs. The dates used are juicy medjool dates, which you soak in boiling water along with baking soda which helps to break them down. This mushy date mixture is then beaten through the cake batter, which results in a very soft and moist pudding.
Once baked and still warm, it’s then poured with your homemade butterscotch sauce. This soaks through the cake which creates the pudding. Often served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream!
Key Ingredients for Sticky Date Pudding
As mentioned, the cake itself is quite basic but with added dates to provide that rich flavour and texture. The ingredients to make your pudding are:
Cake
- Medjool dates
- Baking soda
- Boiling water
- Plain all purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Ground ginger
Unsalted butter - Light brown sugar
- Eggs
Butterscotch Sauce
- Thickened cream
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
I decided to choose medjool dates for this recipe as opposed to dried pitted dates. The fresh medjool dates are extra juicy and work wonderfully in this pudding. It makes the cake extra moist and soft!
Recipe Steps
To make your sticky date pudding, it’s a one bowl cake recipe but of course a sneaky second one to soak your dates in first.
- Pre-heat your oven and prepare your baking pan.
- First, add your chopped medjool dates (pits removed) to a mixing bowl. Sprinkle with baking soda and pour over the boiling water. Give it a mix then set it aside to allow the dates to completely soften. The baking soda also helps break down the dates. You also want the water to return to room temperature before adding to the cake.
- Gather your dry ingredients together, which is the flour, baking powder and ginger. Whisk together in a large mixing bowl.
- Cream together your room temperature butter and brown sugar for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
- Add eggs one at a time until incorporated.
- Once dates have softened, mash them up with a potato masher or fork until they turn mushy. There will be no excess liquid, the dates will soak that up which contributes to that soft mushy texture.
- Add mashed dates to cake mix and beat to combine.
- Add dry flour mixture in 2 batches and beat until you reach a smooth cake batter, ensuring not to over-mix.
- Pour into your lined pan and bake for 30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean or just with a few moist crumbs remaining.
- Whilst your cake is baking, make your butterscotch sauce. One pot, all ingredients, simmer for 3 minutes and add salt. It will be smooth and light in colour.
- Allow your cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then remove it from the pan and poke holes over the surface using a toothpick or skewer.
- Pour over warm butterscotch sauce. Allow to soak through the cake for 10 minutes.
- Serve warm with extra butterscotch sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream if desired. Enjoy!
How to Store Your Sticky Date Pudding
Store your leftover pudding in an airtight container, refrigerated, for 3-4 days. Warm desired amount back up in the oven or microwave.
More Easy Dessert Recipes You Might Like
Looking for more easy dessert recipes? Here are some favourites:
Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding
Lemon, Honey & Raspberry Blender Crepes
Apple, Cinnamon & Cardamom Galette
If you make this recipe please be sure to let me know how you go in the comments below and tag me on Instagram with your delicious photos & video!
Sticky Date Pudding
- Prep Time: 30min
- Cook Time: 35min
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 12–16 squares 1x
Description
Also known as sticky toffee pudding, is a moist cake made with dates and covered in homemade butterscotch sauce whilst still warm. It’s a household favourite at dessert time and an absolute classic recipe which I’m sure many of you have enjoyed at some point. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream to level up that decadence.
Ingredients
- Cake
- 250g medjool dates (about 15 dates), pits removed and chopped small
- 1 tsp (7g) baking soda
- 1 1/4 cups (290ml) boiling water
- 1 1/2 cups (225g) plain all purpose flour
- 2 tsp (9g) baking powder
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 100g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- Butterscotch Sauce
- 1 cup (250ml) thickened cream
- 60g unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup (130g) packed light brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Cake
- Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Grease and line a 9 inch square baking pan with butter and baking/parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place chopped dates in a medium sized mixing bowl. Sprinkle over baking soda. Pour in boiling water and mix. Set aside for 20 minutes until dates completely soften and the water comes back down to room temperature.
- In a small mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder and ground ginger. Whisk to combine well and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand beater or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, add softened butter. Beat for a few seconds to break up.
- Add sugar and cream with butter on medium speed for 1 minute and 30 seconds, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating for 5 seconds after each addition to incorporate.
- Once dates have softened and water is at room temp, take a fork or potato masher and mash the dates to break them up even further. Refer to above image for desired texture, should be mushy.
- Add mashed dates to the bowl and beat until well combined, about 10 seconds.
- Add half of the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Add remaining flour and beat until incorporated, ensuring not to over-mix.
- Pour into lined pan, smoothing out the top.
- Bake for 30-32 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean or just with a few moist crumbs remaining.
- Whilst cake is baking, make butterscotch sauce.
- Butterscotch sauce
- In a small-medium sized pot, add cream, butter and sugar.
- Place over a medium heat and bring to a simmer, mixing occasionally.
- Once simmering, continue to simmer over low-medium heat for 3 minutes, occasionally stirring. Remove from heat after 3 minutes and stir through salt, should be smooth and light in colour.
- Remove pudding from oven once baked and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes.
- Gently remove from pan by grabbing onto the baking paper and lift it out, transfer to a wire cooling rack by sliding it off the baking paper. Place a tray underneath the wire rack to catch any drippings of sauce.
- Take a toothpick or skewer and poke holes over the surface of the cake.
- Pour over 1/2 cup of warm butterscotch sauce. Set aside for 10 minutes to soak through the cake.
- Slice into squares and serve warm.
- Enjoy with more butterscotch sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
- Store in an airtight container, refrigerated, for 3-4 days. Warm desired amount back up in the oven or microwave.
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