Almost everywhere you go to eat in England will have a sticky toffee pudding on the dessert menu at one point or another. There is no other word to describe it but ‘classic’. As you may have gathered by now, I am a pudding person. I love anything sweet and luxurious and will happily eat dessert all day long. It’s this very reason why I tend not to make them often, as I live alone, I will likely end up eating the whole thing! So when my cravings for these delicious desserts come along, I use the excuse of other people’s birthdays and celebrations to make them! Whilst sticky toffee pudding is normally covered in that delicious, rich toffee sauce, I have edited the recipe a little to make it into a cake form, suitable for any celebration. Of course, I did also make a little extra sauce which you can pour over your slice if you fancy it (and why wouldn’t you?!).
This recipe makes an unbelievably soft and light sponge with a rich toffee flavour. The dates add a natural sweetness that blends in flawlessly with the toffee. It is a must try, and the perfect cake to bake for your loved ones with a sweet tooth!
Happy baking X
Time: 2-2 ½ hours Serves: 16-18 people
For the cake
200 g dates
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
175 ml boiling water
2.5 tsp baking powder
145 g butter
300 g flour
200 g dark brown sugar
3 large eggs (or 4 medium)
80 g black treacle
140 ml milk
For the sauce
250 ml cream
120 g butter
150 g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2.5 tbsp treacle
For the buttercream
2 tbsp custard powder
2 tbsp milk
250 g butter (room temperature)
440 g icing sugar
Method:
1. Finely chop your dates and leave them to soak in the water and bicarbonate of soda
2. Turn your oven to 180°C and grease and line 3 cake tins
3. Cream together your sugar and butter until light and fluffy
4. Add your eggs, one at a time, incorporating a little of the flour if the mixture looks like it is curdling
5. Add the rest of the flour, milk, treacle and the soaked dates and mix well.
6. Add the baking powder and mix again until just incorporated. Your batter should be fairly runny.
7. Divide evenly between your baking tins and cook for 18-20 mins, or until the cake springs back when gently pressed. At this point, take out and leave to cool on a cooling rack.
8. While your cakes are baking, make the sticky toffee sauce. This will be used to decorate, add flavour to the buttercream and as a pouring sauce if you want.
9. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat with the sugar, vanilla, cream and treacle.
10. Stir until melted and well combined. Leave on the heat for a few minutes until it begins to bubble.
11. Once your sauce coats the back of a spoon, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
12. To make the buttercream, heat you milk in the microwave or a saucepan until boiling. Add this to 2 tbsp of custard powder and stir until you have a thick paste. Set aside to cool slightly.
13. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the butter until soft using an electric mixer.
14. Slowly add the icing sugar, and whisk until light and fluffy. Add in your cooled custard paste and beat until combined.
15. To assemble, stack your cakes on top of each other, adding a generous layer of buttercream in between each one a drizzle of caramel sauce
16. Coat the outside of your cake with a thin layer of buttercream, and leave for 20 mins in the fridge
17. Add a thicker layer of the buttercream, smooth out, and cover the top of the cake with sticky toffee sauce, allowing some of the sauce to drip down the sides of the cake.
18. Top of with a ring of piped icing around the top and serve with the leftover sauce.
You should end up with a fairly runny batter
Divide between 3 tins and bake until they spring back when lightly pressed
Combine your sauce ingredients in a pan
Your sauce should coat the back of a spoon when ready
Combine the custard powder with boiling milk to make a smooth paste
Beat your butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy, before adding the cooled custard powder mixture
Create a well in each layer to put some of the toffee sauce
Cover the outside of the cake in a thin layer of buttercream
Cover the top with toffee sauce and pipe around the edge with icing
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