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Sticky Toffee Pudding
Here's a figgy twist on an old English favorite. Don't expect American pudding; in Great Britain, "pudding" means dessert, and this one is fantastic. Don't skip the sauce; adding whipped cream or vanilla ice cream wouldn't hurt, either. For a version using alternative sweeteners, see the baker's tips below.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup double diced figs or chopped dried dates
- 2/3 cup boiling water
- ¼ cup soft butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons dark molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour Blend
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Sauce
- ½ cup Baker's Special Sugar, or superfine sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt; omit if using salted butter
- ¾ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter six ¾-cup silicone baking cups or oven-safe custard cups. Combine the figs (or dates) and boiling water, and set aside.
- To make the cake: Beat the 1/4 cup butter, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder until fluffy.
- Beat in the egg, then the molasses and vanilla, then the flour.
- Purée the figs and water in a food processor or blender. Add the baking soda, and stir into the batter.
- Pour into the prepared baking cups. Place molds on a baking sheet.
- Bake the cakes for 18 to 22 minutes, until a cake springs back when lightly pressed in the center. Remove from the oven, and cool in the molds or cups.
- To make the sauce: Cook the sugar, butter, and salt over medium heat until the mixture is a deep amber color; watch closely to prevent burning.
- Carefully mix in the cream. Cook the mixture until it's thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Unmold the cakes and serve with the sauce.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 53g
- Servings Per Batch 16
Amount Per Serving:
- Calories 150
- Calories from Fat 40
- Total Fat 4.5g
- Saturated Fat 3g
- Trans Fat 0g
- Cholesterol 10mg
- Sodium 230mg
- Total Carbohydrate 24g
- Dietary Fiber 1g
- Sugars 3g
- Protein 4g
* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.
Tips from our bakers
- For a new twist on this classic recipe, substitute an equal volume of coconut, date, or palm sugar for the brown sugar in the cake, and an equal volume of coconut or palm sugar for the white sugar in the sauce (date sugar will not work in the sauce).
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Reviews
Made this wow dessert for a family gathering. It traveled like a dream and was a hit at the party. What with travel and all, we ate it 3.5 hours after i made it and it was warm and wonderful. I used glass 5 oz custard cups, put in insulated casserole carrier as soon as they cooled enough from the oven to go into the carrier. Caramel sauce went straight from stovetop to an insulated carafe and it stayed hot and pourable. Served with ice cream which was transported in separate insulate lunch bag. Wow
This was such an amazing recipe. Probably one of the best cakes I have ever made/eaten. The cake is very light and moist. It is a little too rich with the sauce, but I feel it is an integral part of the dessert. There is another popular dessert called 'Malva pudding' that is so similar to sticky toffee pudding, but a little less rich and cloying. Would King Arthur Flour please come up with a recipe for the Malva pudding? I do not doubt it will be as delicious as KAF's sticky toffee pudding and their rum cake!Thanks for the suggestion, S.K. We always love hearing about more delicious recipes to explore. We've passed your request along to our Recipe Team to consider in future discussion about new King Arthur Flour recipes. Happy baking! Kye@KAF
Question???? Can I make this in a cake pan?????The baker who wrote the accompanying blog article to go with this recipe, MaryJane, wrote this when asked in a blog comment about baking in a cake pan: "Iâd stick with muffin tins if you donât have the ramekins. Fill them about half full and reduce the baking time a bit. I know that will work, but havenât tested this as a cake layer." We hope that helps, and happy baking! Kye@KAF
Just stumbled on to this recipe. I learned about Sticky Toffee Pudding in Aberdeen Scotland on a business trip. The Craig Harr Hotel has it on their menu and I probably had it 4 times a week. Ohhhh so good. Theirs is made with dates and is identical to this recipe except they add "clabbered cream" as an additional topping. It is pure sex for the taste buds. One of my co-workers dear lady wife gave me the recipe and this one is spot on. Settle in for a wonderful evening with this dessert and a wee nip of Single Malt Scotch. Cheers
Yummy goodness. I use my fresh figs, puree them up and omit the water it works out great.
We made this last year for Christmas, it was a hit. From the youngest (a very picky 3 year old) to the oldest (not telling). My grandkids were singing bring me some figgy pudding for weeks!
Easy to make and absolutely delicious!
LOVE this recipe! Just made it and had to come rate it. I used fresh figs instead of dried. The cake is moist and rich, but the caramel sauce is what really makes it. So perfect!
I was enchanted by the idea of a "figgy pudding". My husband and I liked this but kids didn't. Made with figs and 1/2 AP flour and 1/2 cake flour. The cakes baked well, but seemed slightly salty to me if I didn't have a good helping of caramel sauce with the bite. Strange. Something very odd happened when I made the sauce. Maybe because I'm at 4500ft? Used the baker's sugar, but it never made a liquid sauce with the butter while heating on medium. It sort of made a sugary blob with some of the oil separated (stirring constantly). I almost stopped. When the blob turned amber, I added the heavy cream and kept going. The amber blob broke up and looked like little caramel chunks in amber cream. I kept heating and stirring and eventually they melted into the cream making a thick "sauce". It was sauce when warm and soft caramel when cooled to room temp. Worked out, but it didn't soak into the cake (maybe that's why the cake tasted salty without it?) Overall I liked this, but I will need to modify the recipe if I make again. I don't think my kids will go for it in any case (the stinkers).
I definitely think that high altitude is playing a role here. Here are our high altitude baking tips: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/high-altitude-baking.html. If you have specific questions, please give us a call on the Baker's Hotline and we'll be happy to help troubleshoot. ~Mel
This was excellent! I made it gluten free by using KAF's Brown Rice Blend. The cakes were baked in 5 oz custard cups and rose beautifully. They were done to the touch in 25 minutes. The cakes were very moist and the sauce adds the crowning touch. I did use chopped dates and am looking forward to trying it with figs.
