Go Back
–+ servings
Sticky toffee pudding is a British classic dessert. It has a rich dark date sponge and a gloriously decadent toffee sauce. Enjoy warm with ice cream, cream or custard. Recipe by movers and bakers
5 from 1 vote

The BEST Sticky Toffee Pudding

This Sticky Toffee Tray Bake features a light and springy date-infused sponge, baked to golden perfection and drenched in a rich, velvety homemade toffee sauce. Whether served warm with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream or enjoyed as a simple afternoon treat, it delivers "cosy vibes" in every single bite.
Servings 15 servings
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

For the date cake

  • 325 g (1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp) dates, destoned and finely chopped
  • 1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  • 360 ml (1 ½ cups) boiling water
  • 165 g (¾ cup) unsalted butter
  • 190 g (1 cup) dark brown sugar
  • 4 tbsp treacle
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 large eggs
  • 230 g (1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp) plain (all purpose) flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt

For the toffee sauce

  • 60 g (¼ cup) unsalted butter
  • 75 g (¼ cup + 2 tbsp) muscovado sugar
  • 2 tbsp treacle
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 360 ml (1 ½ cups) double (heavy) cream

Instructions

For the date cake

  • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a 8" x 12" tin with parchment paper and set aside.
  • In a bowl, combine the chopped dates, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and boiling water. Stir (the mixture will foam up slightly), then cover and leave the mixture to sit whilst making the cake batter.
  • In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir it together, then set aside.
  • In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until completely combined and pale. Add in the treacle, vanilla and egg and beat together until smooth. No need to fret if the mixture looks a little curdled at this stage, it will all come together in the end.
  • Add half the flour mixture to the butter bowl, folding to combine. Pour in all the date mixture, including the liquid, and fold together until combined. Finally, add in the remaining dry ingredients and fold it all together until no more streaks of flour remain.
  • Tip the cake mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing into the corners and levelling the mixture out. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until baked through and a wooden skewer comes out clean. Leave in the tin.

How to make toffee sauce

  • While the cake is baking, make the toffee sauce. Place the butter, sugar, treacle and salt together in a small saucepan and heat gently whilst stirring to melt the butter and dissolve the sugar.
  • After everything is melted together and smooth, stir in the cream. Heat the mixture to a gently simmer, and cook whilst stirring for a few minutes until the sauce is starting to thicken. Take off the heat and keep warm.
  • Once the cake has come out of the oven, pour over about a quarter of the sauce whilst it is still in the tin, spreading it out into an even layer. Cut the cake into pieces whilst still in the tin.
  • When you are ready to serve, simply plate up a slice of cake, top with extra toffee sauce and your choice of ice cream (my favourite!), custard (still yum!) or double cream. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Chop the dates as finely as you can. This will help them break down well during soaking and disperse evenly throughout the cake batter.
  • Beat the butter and sugar well until light and soft, smooth and well combined. This will help the cake be light and fluffy.
  • When adding the treacle, vanilla and eggs to the butter, it will look a little curdled. No need to fret, once the dry ingredients are added in, it will all come together beautifully!
  • My recipe for this classic sticky toffee pudding recipes makes a really light cake. To achieve this, make sure you fold the final ingredient additions in rather than beating, to keep the air from the start of the method in the mixture.
  • As you make the toffee sauce, be careful not to boil it when adding the cream. Instead let it simmer gently for a few minutes to help keep the sauce really silky smooth as it thickens during cooking.
  • Make sure to stir the sauce continuously whilst cooking, especially once the cream has been added, so it does not catch on the bottom of the pan and burn!
  • If you do not have dark brown and/or muscovado sugars for this bake, substitute for light brown sugar. Darker sugars give an extra rich molasses flavour to the cake and the sauce, so it is definitely my preference here!
  • In the US, molasses can be substituted for treacle, as it is a much more common British ingredient. If you cannot find either, you could also try using golden syrup in this easy sticky toffee pudding recipe.
    • Author: Andrea
    Calories: 522kcal
    Course: Puddings, Tray Bakes
    Cuisine: British
    Keyword: Best Sticky Toffee Traybake Recipe, Easy Sticky Toffee Pudding Tray Bake, How to make toffee sauce for sticky date pudding, Simple British Toffee Pudding, Sticky Date Cake with Toffee Sauce, Traditional British Bakes, Using dates in a traybake cake

    Nutrition

    Calories: 522kcal