Time For Sticky Toffee Pudding

It was a sunny Sunday in late September. The dining room was full and noisy. We had just finished eating a roast dinner, and in the midst of the loud clamour of conversation, someone passed me another bowl of food. I looked at it with mild curiosity. I had no idea what it was. The plain white bowl held a generous portion of what appeared to be a mounded island of dark brown cake, surrounded by an ocean of sauce and cream. I took a tentative spoonful, and so began my love for this delicious toffee drenched treat of a comfort food.

It was also the first traditional pudding I learned how to make as a teenager living in Scotland. It was my introductory kitchen foray into the art of making English puddings, always served with single cream or hot pouring custard.

The word “pudding” itself originally referred to a cake in a pudding basin, tied in a cloth bag and steamed in a pot of boiling water. We do still steam our raisin-laden Christmas pudding (the fabled figgy pudding of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”) before pouring over a ladleful of lighted brandy, transforming it into a tiny mountain of blue flame. Many of the other traditional steamed pudding recipes are just as often baked in a dish. “Pudding” can also be a catch-all word referring to “dessert”. 

This recipe is the one I learned to make in Scotland, generously shared with anyone who wanted it by Mrs Doreen Gray, principal gardener extraordinaire. I've changed the margarine to butter and the sugar to muscovado or coconut, for even more toffee flavour.

STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING

6 oz butter

6 oz dark muscovado sugar or coconut sugar

8 oz plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg, whisked

6 oz stoned, finely chopped and floured dates

1/2 pint boiling water

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Whisk flour and baking powder together.

2) Cream butter and sugar.

3) Beat egg into creamed mixture with some of the flour.

4) Continue beating for a minute or so before adding the remainder of the flour mixture.

5) Place dates in a bowl and pour boiling water over them.

6) Mix soda and vanilla into date mixture. Add dates to the batter and mix well.

7) Turn into a greased (or fully paper lined) 11x7-ish tin.

8) Bake for 40 minutes in a 350F/180C/gas mark 4 oven.

Topping:

2 1/2 oz dark muscovado or coconut sugar

1 1/2 oz butter

2 TBSP double cream 

Heat sugar, butter and cream in a heavy saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes. You can pour the sauce over the hot pudding and place under a hot grill until it bubbles and then serve up the pudding with a second batch of extra sauce, and single pouring cream. Or you can simply pour the sauce over individual bowls of pudding with pouring cream to finish. Either works!