Sticky Toffee Pudding

America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Pudding Cakes

• • 2oz butter, melted, plus more for ramekins

  • 6¼ ounces AP flour, plus more for dusting the ramekins

  • 8oz whole dates, pitted, cut crosswise into ¼-inch slices

  • 6oz warm water

  • ½ tsp baking soda

  • ½ tsp baking powder

  • ½ tsp salt

  • 5¼ oz dark brown sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 1½ tsp vanilla extract

Toffee Sauce

• • 2oz butter

  • 7oz dark brown sugar

  • ¼ tsp salt

  • 8oz heavy cream

  • 1tbs rum

  • ½ tsp lemon juice

Instructions

For the pudding cakes:

• 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees F.

  2. Butter and flour eight 4-ounce ramekins or small bowls. Set prepared ramekins in sheet pan lined with clean dish towel. Bring kettle or large saucepan of water to boil over high heat.

  3. Combine half of dates with water and baking soda in large liquid measuring cup (dates should be submerged beneath water) and soak for 5 minutes.

  4. Drain dates, reserving liquid, and transfer to medium bowl. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in another medium bowl.

  5. Process remaining dates and brown sugar in food processor until no large chunks remain and mixture has texture of coarse sand, about 45 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.

  6. Add reserved soaking liquid, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter and process until smooth, about 15 seconds. Transfer this mixture to bowl with softened dates.

  7. Gently stir dry mixture into wet mixture until just combined and date pieces are evenly dispersed.

  8. Distribute batter evenly among prepared ramekins.

  9. Fill roasting pan with enough boiling water to come ¼-inch up sides of ramekins, making sure not to splash water into ramekins.

  10. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil, crimping edges to seal. Bake pudding cakes until puffed and small holes appear on surface, about 40 minutes.

  11. Immediately remove ramekins from water bath and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

For the toffee sauce: 

• 1. While cakes cool, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.

  2. Whisk in brown sugar and salt until smooth.

  3. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and slightly darkened, 3 to 4 minutes.

  4. Add ⅓ cream and stir until smooth, about 30 seconds. 

  5. Slowly pour in remaining ⅔ cream and rum, whisking constantly until smooth. Reduce heat to low and simmer until frothy, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.

To serve:

• 1. Using a toothpick, poke 25 holes in each cake and spoon 1 T toffee sauce over each cake. Let rest 5 minutes until sauce is absorbed.

  2. Invert each ramekin onto plate or shallow bowl and remove ramekin. Divide remaining toffee sauce evenly among cakes and serve immediately.

Notes:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/apr/14/cook-perfect-sticky-toffee-pudding

Serves 6

• • 175g medjool dates, stoned and roughly chopped

  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

  • 300ml boiling water

  • 50g unsalted butter, softened

  • 80g golden caster sugar

  • 80g dark muscovado sugar

  • 2 eggs, beaten

  • 175g flour

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • Pinch of ground cloves

For the sauce:

• • 115g unsalted butter

  • 75g golden caster sugar

  • 40g dark muscovado sugar

  • 140ml double cream

Method:

• 1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Butter a baking dish approximately 24cm x 24cm.

  2. Make the sauce by putting all the ingredients into a pan with a pinch of salt and heating slowly until the butter has melted, then turn up the heat and bring to the boil.

  3. Boil for about 4 minutes, until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.

  4. Pour half the sauce into the base of the dish and then put it in the freezer while you make the rest of the pudding.

  5. Put the dates and bicarbonate of soda in a heatproof dish and cover with the boiling water. Leave to soften while you prepare the rest of the pudding.

  6. Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy, and then beat in the eggs, a little at a time.

  7. Stir in the flour, baking powder, cloves and a pinch of salt until well combined, and then add the dates and their soaking water, and mix well.

  8. Take the dish out of the freezer and pour the batter on top of the toffee sauce.

  9. Put into the oven for 30 minutes, until firm to the touch, and then take out of the oven.

  10. Heat the grill to medium, and poke a few small holes evenly over the surface with a skewer or fork, and then pour over the rest of the sauce.

  11. Put briefly under the grill, keeping an eye on it as it can easily burn. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Patty's Sticky Toffee Pudding

For the cake:

• 8 oz Medjool dates, pitted and chopped roughly

• 3/4 c. mixture of water and black coffee

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 1/2 c all purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 4oz butter, softened to room temperature

• 8oz dark brown sugar, packed

• 2 eggs

For the sauce (this is a double recipe, which is very much needed):

• 1 1/2 sticks (12 Tb) butter

• 1 1/2 c packed dark brown sugar

• 1/2 c heavy cream

• Big pinch of salt

Cake Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Place the dates and water/coffee mixture in a saucepan and heat until boiling. 

3. Add the baking soda and stir (this will froth). 

4. Remove from heat and allow to cool and for the dates to soften.

5. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

6. In mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar together until fluffy. 

7. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated.

8. Stir in the dates with their liquid by hand into the butter and brown sugar mixture until incorporated.

9. Stir in the flour mixture until incorporated, but do not overmix.

10. Grease a loaf pan and fill with batter only halfway (it will rise).

11. Bake for 45-50 minutes, but start checking the center for doneness at around 40 minutes as overbaking will make it very dry.  It should be baked until the center is only *just* set.  

Add some of the toffee sauce to the bottom of the pan before adding the batter and baking.  This does make the cake more moist at the bottom, but it starts taking up more of the sticky toffee character immediately.  

Sauce Method:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until frothing but not browning. 

2. Add the sugar and salt and stir until dissolved.

3. Slowly stir in the heavy cream and mix until the sauce has come together.  

America's Test Kitchen sticky toffee pudding

INDIVIDUAL STICKY BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING CAKES

Servings: 8

Start to finish: 1 hour, 15 minutes

• • 8 ounces pitted dates, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (1 1/3 cups)

  • 3/4 cup warm water (110 F)

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 3/4 cup packed (5 1/4 ounces) brown sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 recipe Butterscotch Sauce (recipe follows)

• 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 F. 

  2. Grease and flour eight 6-ounce ramekins. Set prepared ramekins in large roasting pan lined with dish towel. Bring kettle of water to boil.

1. Combine half of dates, water, and baking soda in 2-cup liquid measuring cup (dates should be submerged beneath water), and soak dates for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl.

3. Process sugar and remaining dates in food processor until no large date chunks remain and mixture has texture of damp, coarse sand, about 45 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. 

4. Drain soaked dates and add soaking liquid to processor. 

5. Add eggs, melted butter, and vanilla and process until smooth, about 15 seconds. 

6. Transfer mixture to bowl with dry ingredients and sprinkle drained soaked dates on top.

7. With rubber spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold wet mixture into dry mixture until just combined and date pieces are evenly dispersed. 

8. Divide batter evenly among prepared ramekins. 

9. Pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come 1/4 inch up sides of ramekins. 

10. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil, crimping edges to seal. 

11. Bake until cakes are puffed and surfaces are spongy, firm, and moist to touch, about 40 minutes.

12. Immediately transfer ramekins to wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.

13. Using skewer, poke 25 holes in top of each cake and spoon 1 tablespoon sauce over each cake. 

14. Let cakes sit until sauce is absorbed, about 5 minutes. 

15. Invert each ramekin onto individual plates or shallow bowls; lift off ramekin. Spoon remaining sauce over cakes and serve immediately.

Butterscotch Sauce:

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Note: video version of this added a little rum and lemon juice, both of which seem like a good idea to balance the sweetness. Salt?

1 cup packed (7 ounces) brown sugar

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

8 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon water

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1. Heat sugar, corn syrup, butter, and water in medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often, until sugar is fully dissolved, about 2 minutes.

  2. Continue to cook, without stirring, until mixture begins to bubble, 1 to 2 minutes.

1. Off heat, carefully stir in cream and vanilla; mixture will bubble and steam. 

2. Continue to stir until sauce is smooth. Let cool slightly. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks; gently warm in microwave, stirring every 10 seconds, until pourable, before using.)