Few desserts capture the essence of British comfort food quite like sticky toffee pudding. This indulgent classic features a moist date sponge, generously drenched in a rich toffee sauce, and traditionally served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of custard.
Never tried making your own? You won't believe how easy it is to make, and if you follow our top tips, you'll be rewarded with a delicious dessert that delivers comfort in every bite.
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- 225 g pitted dates
- 75 g softened butter
- 200 g demerara sugar
- 225 g self-raising flour
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 Tbsp. golden syrup
- 1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
For the toffee sauce
- 75 g butter
- 75 g dark muscovado sugar
- 250 ml double cream
- 2 Tbsp. golden syrup
- Step 1Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease and line the base and sides of an 18 x 25.5cm roasting tin with baking parchment. Put dates into a food processor and pour in 300ml just-boiled water. Leave to soak for 5min.
- Step 2Meanwhile, in a large bowl beat together butter, demerara sugar, flour, eggs and golden syrup with an electric hand whisk until smooth.
- Step 3Whizz the date mixture to a purée, then pulse in bicarbonate of soda. Fold date purée into the batter until well combined. Transfer to the prepared tin and bake for 45-50min or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Step 4Meanwhile, make the toffee sauce: melt butter in a medium pan. Add sugar, double cream and golden syrup. Bring to the boil, stirring often, and simmer for 3-5min until thickened. Serve warm cake in squares, drizzled generously with sauce (reheat if needed) – and ice cream, if you like!
Get Ahead
Make 1 day ahead. Wrap cooled date cake (in tin) in clingfilm and store at room temperature. Cover sauce and chill. To serve, reheat cake in a 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4 oven for 12-15min to warm through. Reheat sauce until hot.
GH Tips
It's important to only add the bicarbonate of soda to the date mixture just before it's ready to be added to the butter. Bicarbonate of soda will begin to take effect as soon as it comes into contact with liquid, so it's important that you move as quickly as possible to get the mixture into the oven once it's added.
Don't open the oven door too early to check the sponge otherwise you run the risk of having a sunken pudding. Only check after 40min in order give time for the sponge structure to set.
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Per serving:
- Calories: 665
- Protein: 6g
- Total Fat: 34g
- Saturates: 21g
- Carbs: 82g
- Total Sugars: 63g
- Fibre: 3g
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
