Sticky Toffee Pudding

By davidv

“When our Social Manager, Jen, lived in London, she hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for her new friends. Someone brought this Sticky Toffee Pudding, and she was hooked!"—David

Tip: Feel free to play around with the add-ins for this dessert. Try vanilla extract or orange zest— you’ll find both ingredients in other versions of this British classic.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pitted dates, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
• 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for greasing pan
• 1 cup self-rising cake flour, plus additional for flouring pan
• 2-1/4 cups dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 1/8 tsp salt + a pinch
• 2/3 cup water

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8" x 2" round cake pan.

Bring 1 cup of water to a simmer in a 1-qt heavy saucepan. Add the dates and the cranberries and simmer, covered, until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat together 1 stick of butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the egg until well combined.

Add the flour and 1/8 tsp salt to the bowl and continue to mix at low speed until just combined. Add the dates and the cranberries. Mix all ingredients together until they’re fully incorporated.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake on the middle rack until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

While the pudding is baking, melt the remaining 2 sticks of butter in a 2-qt heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the remaining 2 cups brown sugar, 2/3 cup water, and a pinch of salt.

Boil the mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce is reduced to about 2-1/4 cups, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.

When finished baking, remove the pudding from the oven and poke all over at 1” intervals with a chopstick (or other similarly shaped tool). Pour half of the warm sauce evenly over the hot pudding.

Let the pudding stand at room temperature until almost all of the sauce is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

Run a thin knife around the edge of the cake pan. Cover the pudding with a plate and carefully invert the pudding so that it comes out onto the plate.

Serve immediately with the remaining warm sauce.