Liz Polding shares a recipe for sticky toffee pudding recipe, adapted from Nigella Lawson’s original recipe.
Sticky toffee pudding is a huge favourite, not least because it is part of so many wonderful family holidays in the Lake District, Langdale, to be precise, where we have been going for over 3 decades. The best we have found (they wouldn’t give me their recipe, I did ask!) is at Wainwrights, a pub near where we stay. We have been dragging our children on long hikes since the time they were carried in backpacks and sticky toffee pudding is usually the reward for 8 miles or more over the fells in all weathers. I also run the fells before everyone else gets up, making sure that my route takes me past a local bakery and coffee shop about a mile and half from home. An espresso and a run back with warm bread for breakfast finishes off my run nicely and sets me up for a long hike later. The fells are easier when you can take them at walking pace!
The recipe
So, the recipe. It usually calls for black treacle, and I wouldn’t argue with that, except that for some people, my family included, black treacle is a very strong taste, so you can substitute golden syrup or maple syrup instead. Both give a slightly sweeter taste and a different flavour in the case of the maple syrup. It also, I’m afraid, calls for an awful lot of sugar in the sauce! If you use treacle or golden syrup, stand the measuring spoon in a cup of hot water first before measuring. It stops the syrup from sticking to the spoon.
Essentially, you have two separate tasks in this recipe, but they are consecutive in terms of the actual work, so not too onerous. You probably need about an hour, all told. You can easily double the quantities if you are feeding more than 4 people, but I found that the quantities listed are about right for a pudding that you are going to demolish at a single meal.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees, slightly lower it is a fan oven. You will need a baking dish of around 20cm square. I quite like silicon baking dishes because you do not need to grease them.
Ingredients
The pudding:
- 100g of pitted dates (Medjool are the nicest; very squidgy)
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 100ml Boiling water
- 40g butter (preferably unsalted) (if you double the quantities, go for 75g instead of 80g here)
- 1 tablespoon black treacle or half treacle and half golden syrup
- 50g dark sugar (dark brown soft sugar is fine, but dark muscovado gives more flavour)
- 1 egg
- 75g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
The sauce:
- 75g unsalted butter
- 150g of dark sugar (see above)
- ½ tablespoon golden syrup or black treacle
- 100ml double cream
Method
Finely chop the pitted dates, put them in a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda and pour the boiling water over them until it covers them. Don’t overdo it with the water as you are going to be adding it to your other ingredients along with the dates. Set to one side while you make the rest of the pudding.
If you are using a stand mixer, put everything apart from the dates, the baking power and the flour in together and beat it until combined. Then add the flour and baking powder and beat again. You will probably need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times. Finally add the dates and the water (basically just tip the contents of the bowl in, slow down the speed so that you avoid a huge mess in the kitchen and voila, a reasonably smooth batter.
If you are doing this by hand, I salute you! Soften the butter (just leave it out of the fridge for a bit), then cream it with the treacle until combined, add the sugar and beaten egg and beat those until combined. Add the flour and baking powder a bit at a time until all combined, and finally the dates and water, beating until you get a reasonably smooth batter (the dates will stay a bit lumpy at this stage, but not to worry!)
If you haven’t already greased your baking dish with butter, do that now, pour the batter in and stick it in the oven for about 30 minutes (check it with a skewer after about 25; if it comes out clean, it’s done).
While your slightly unattractive looking creation is baking (it’s not pretty at this stage, but it gets better), put all the ingredients for the sauce except the cream into a heavy bottomed pan and melt everything together over a low heat until combined. Then add the cream and bring it to the boil, stirring the whole time until it is just boiling.
Hopefully your pudding should now be just about there. When you take it out of the oven, poke it full of holes with the skewer and then douse it liberally with the sauce, reserving some of the sauce for people to add when the eat it. Give it a couple of minutes for the sauce to do its job of making the pudding very, very sticky and then serve, with sauce and (if you are feeling very decadent), either whipped double cream or single cream.
Glorious.
