Sticky Date Pudding – you’re my favourite and always will be. Also known as Sticky Toffee Pudding, the simple trick that makes all the difference is to pour some Butterscotch Sauce over the warm cake when it comes out of the oven. It makes it ultra moist and gives it that intense dark colour. Plus, more sauce to serve, of course!
Sticky Date Pudding – a childhood favourite!
Who else has childhood memories of Sara Lee frozen Sticky Date Pudding??
It is the only store bought dessert my mother ever bought – and only on special occasions. And as much as I loved it, my one gripe was always that there was not enough Butterscotch Sauce to go around.
Never fear. You won’t have that problem with this recipe! 😂
I know this recipe is called Sticky Toffee Pudding by most of the world – other than Australia and New Zealand it seems. And given that dates are the key ingredient in the pudding, I would say we’ve got it right for this one!!
Dates are key
I am pretty sure this is the only recipe I use dates for. And I realise that the photo above of the date sludge may look thoroughly unappetising to some people, but rest assured even if you’re a date hater that you can’t taste it in the end result.
The dates contribute to the stickiness and moistness of the sponge, as well as giving it colour. Don’t ask me for a sub! (Oh wait, you can. Prunes. Pretty much the same thing! 😂)
Individual puddings – or a large one for sharing
I think it’s more common here in Australia to make one pudding cake that is then cut to serve. Sara Lee frozen dessert style. Whereas in the UK it seems more common to make individual puddings.
I might be wrong here. But either way will work fine, and I’ve provided cook times and directions for both.
Secret tip: Douse hot pudding with sauce
If you’ve ever made one of those cakes that you douse with syrup, you’ll know exactly what you’re in for with this trick!
It goes like this – as soon as the pudding comes out of the oven, poke lots of holes using a skewer (I find this strangely satisfying but let’s not read too much into this), then pour over some hot butterscotch sauce.
This makes the pudding intensely moist as well as staining the sponge to give it that signature dark brown colour, rather than being a pale golden colour which many sticky toffee pudding recipes are.
It also means this pudding keeps for days and days in the fridge and once reheated, it’s just like it’s fresh out of the oven.
The only question is – will you serve yours with cream or ice cream? I’m an ice cream gal, all the way!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Sticky Date Pudding
Ingredients
- 280g / 9 oz pitted dates , roughly chopped (Note 1)
- 1 tsp baking soda / bi carb soda
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/4 cup brown sugar , loosely packed
- 80g / 6 tbsp unsalted butter , softened
- 2 eggs , at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Butterscotch Sauce:
- 1 cup brown sugar , tightly packed
- 1 1/2 cups thickened cream (heavy cream)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 70g / 5 tbsp unsalted butter
Serving:
- Ice cream or dolloping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced).
- Grease 7 pudding moulds (Note 2) with butter or grease and line a 20 cm / 8″ square cake pan with overhang.
Mashed Dates:
- Place dates in a bowl, sprinkle over baking soda. Pour over boiling water. Stand 10 minutes, then mash well with a potato masher (or fork) until it resembles sloppy porridge (see video for texture / thickness). (Note 3)
Batter:
- Place butter and sugar in a bowl. Beat until combined and smooth.
- Add eggs, beat until incorporated.
- Add flour then sprinkle baking powder across the surface. Mix until flour is incorporated.
- Add dates, mix quickly until dates are well incorporated into the batter. (Note 2) Follow directions to make one pudding or individual ones.
One Pudding:
- Pour into cake pan, smooth surface. Bake 35 minutes or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- While still hot, poke about 40 holes all over the surface using a skewer. Pour over 1/2 cup Butterscotch Sauce, leave to soak for 10 minutes.
- Use overhang to lift cake out. Cut, serve warm with remaining warm sauce and ice cream or cream.
Baking Individual Puddings:
- Pour batter into pudding moulds, only fill 2/3 of the way up.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- While still hot, poke about 10 holes on the surface of the pudding. Spoon over 1 tbsp of Butterscotch Sauce per Pudding. Leave to soak 10 minutes.
- Turn pudding moulds upside down on serving plate. Serve warm with remaining warm sauce and ice cream or cream.
Butterscotch Sauce:
- Place ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Once butter is melted, stir, then bring to simmer.
- Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring once, then remove from heat. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes:
– This recipe probably makes more sauce than you need – but it’s better to err on the side of caution!
– An electric beater will make your life easier but a whisk + wooden spoon will work fine too without exerting yourself too much. Just make sure your butter is well softened and easy to mix by hand.
– Poking holes into the pudding and pouring the sauce over to soak stains the pudding sponge a darker colour as well as adding more moisture into the pudding.
– Sticky Date Pudding is indulgent and very sweet, from both the dates + sugar in sauce. If you don’t have a sweet tooth, this dessert is not for you! To reduce sweetness, you can skimp on the sauce. Or make a lighter, less sweet sauce as follows: Use half the sugar, butter and cream, make per recipe. When it simmers, add 1 cup low fat milk, then 2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp water. Simmer to thicken. 4. Make Ahead: Exceptional for reheating because it’s so moist. Poke the holes and soak with sauce, reserve remaining sauce for serving. Best way to reheat is in the microwave because it keeps the pudding moist. 5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 9 servings and that all Sauce is consumed, which it may not be. I like to ensure there is enough Sauce because running out is a disaster. Nutrition for 7 individual puddings is 703 calories per serving. They are very generous sizes with loads of sauce (because the sauce recipe makes enough for 9 servings for the pudding cake), so when I scale the Sauce down by 20%, it reduces to 606 calories. Calories per serve for lightened up sauce (see Less Sweet Sauce above) is 477 calories.
More cosy warm desserts for cold winter nights
Life of Dozer
If you look real close on the right side, you’ll see the tiniest glimpse of my hand as I desperately tried to hold Dozer back from doing a face plant into the Pupcakes…..
This recipe is sooo moist and sooo delicious! Cooked it for my mum who has sticky date pudding every year for her birthday and she said that hands down this is her favourite. Super easy to prepare and a lot of fun to stab the holes into 😂😅 (no judging!)
Absolutely delicious!! Love the sauce, was ready to drink it straight from the saucepan. Thank you Nagi
Delicious. Best sticky date pudding as rated by my husband and father. Thank you
Sticky date is my husbands favourite. After I made this recipe for him he said it’s the best he’s ever tasted. (I doubled up in the sauce!)
Woah, I’m so glad it was a hit Nicki! N x
Oh my god this recipe is literally amazing. I didn’t alter it at all. Incredible!!!!!!
Hi! Could I sub the butter for dairy free butter? And the thickened cream for maybe coconut milk or cream? 🙂
I haven’t tried to be honest Kira – I feel like dairy free butter may change the texture slightly! N x
Hi Nagi, thanks a mil yet again. These puds were sensational. My only criticism is the number of serves. 7 to 9 you say, well there were 5 of us the other night and no leftovers for my breakfast. Will not be inviting sweet toothed friends for dinner again 🤣😎
Thanks again! 😘
Sarah
Hi, if I want to make ahead and individual puddings, do I take out of moulds once slightly cooled and then store in fridge? Then to use (i plan to next day), do I just put in microwave to heat then poke holes and pour through sauce?
Hi Lauren, yes 100% right! You’re going to love them!! N x
Sooo good! Very moist without being heavy and generous amount of delicious sauce. Made the 7 individual puddings which are also very generous. Next time might make 8 just for even numbers!
I’m so happy you loved them Michelle, I can just smell them now! N x
Hello! Can I put the dates in the food processor to finely crush it after soaking it to boling water and baking soda? I tried yor recipe and it was delicious but I have lots of lumps because of the date since I do not have a masher.
Hi Marisse, a little texture is good – try using a fork to mash them 🙂 N x
Yep I used fork to mash them, but there were lots of lumps. If I want it to be finely mashed can I put it in the food processor? Will it change the texture or taste or anything? Thank you Nagi! 🙂
I mashed mine with a fork and i also ended up with a few lumps, in the end i actually shredded the bits by hand and it turned out perfect still 🙂
Hi N, can I add some walnuts to this?
Sure could Sanaya, would give a lovely texture too! N x
By the way, I’ve cream all the way.
Turned out perfectly. Baked Individual puddings in a mini Bundt pan, which leaves a hole in the middle for the sauce. Great recipe thank you 👍
Great taste, but the pan made one doesn’t rise. I tried the recipe twice.
Hi Gabrielle, sticky date is notoriously dense, it shouldn’t be a fluffy cake but should definitely rise a little. Is your baking soda in date? N x
This recipe is the best! I’ve made it a few times now and it comes out exactly the same each time. Everyone in the family loves it.
Hi Nagi, I noticed a mistake in your recipe. The flour part says 1 1/4 cups/185 g. However, 1 1/4 cups of flour is 155 g. not 185.
Hi Alex, 1 cup of flour here is 150g so 1 1/4 is 185g as per the recipe 🙂 N x
Just cooked this today and it is so amazing! Tastes fabulous and oh so moist! Will definitely add this to my regular list of desserts.
Hey there! I made this tonight and it was delicious however it had a bit of a raw floury taste. Is this normal? Could it be because I didn’t use fresh dates?
Hi Antoinette, that definitely doesn’t sound right! What kind of dates did you use here? N x
Hi Nagi, thanks so much for your prompt reply. I used community and co pitted dates. I might try again with fresh dates
Loves this! I had made this twice and it’s a hit in the family, especially the kids! Now I just need to make it more each time.
Nagi, if I’m doubling the recipe, do I need to double the baking soda, baking powder and eggs?
A bit obvious you do if you’re doubling the recipe
Can I freeze it? At which stage please? TIA
Hi Yousra, if you keep the sauce and pudding separate you can freeze them once made. To reheat, just thaw the pudding, microwave so warm and top with the sauce heated in a pan over low heat (or microwaved as well). N x
Thank you so much 🙂