Sticky Toffee Pudding

Sticky toffee pudding is one of those nostalgic, cozy desserts that feels like a hug in dessert form. I’ve eaten a lot of versions over the years, but this one is my own take—baked in muffin tins for individual servings, with a ridiculously addictive butterscotch sauce that caramelizes at the bottom and gets spooned generously over the top. I could truly bathe in this sauce—it's that good.

These puddings are rich without being overly sweet, thanks to a generous hit of salt. And yes, I'm going to call a space a spade—they’re brown. Extremely brown. Possibly the least photogenic dessert you’ll make all year. But who cares? One bite of this ooey, gooey masterpiece and you’ll wish everything you ate came in this exact shade of caramel.

A quick anecdote on recipe testing: I had been developing this recipe for a few weeks and planned to serve it to my family after a big holiday turkey dinner to test it out. The kitchen was a mess, the dishwasher was groaning under the weight of every serving dish we owned, and there were way too many helpful hands trying to clean up. I was minding my own business and gently reheating my huge vat of butterscotch sauce on the stovetop when my dad—thinking it was the gravy pot—poured the leftover turkey gravy from the gravy boat straight into it. I was moments away from ladling it over my finished puddings when my mom noticed and saved the day. Sticky toffee pudding with eau de gravy? Not quite what I was going for. Recipe testing is not always glamorous and definitely not always successful, but it made for a great story and will forever be a joke in our family!

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Total time: about 1 hour (20 minutes prep, 20–22 minutes bake, plus cooling & sauce time)

Makes: 12 individual puddings

Ingredients

Butterscotch Sauce

• 1 cups (200g) packed brown sugar
• ¾ cup (170g) butter
• 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• Generous pinch of salt

Pudding Batter

• 1 cup (150g) chopped dates, pitted
• ¾ cup (180ml) boiling water
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 6 tbsp (85g) butter, softened
• ⅔ cup (135g) brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp nutmeg

Instructions

1. Make the butterscotch sauce: In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar together, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the cream and bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 3–5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt.
2. Prep the oven and muffin tin: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 12-cup muffin tin well. Spoon about 1 tablespoon into the bottom of each greased muffin cup. Reserve the rest for topping later.
3. Soften the dates: In a small bowl, combine chopped dates with boiling water. Stir in baking soda and let sit for 10 minutes to soften.
4. Make the batter: In a large mixing bowl, cream together softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy (2–3 minutes). Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla. Blend the date mixture (including liquid) in a food processor or with a hand blender until mostly smooth (some chunkiness is okay). Stir into the batter.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture until just combined.
6. Bake the puddings: Divide the batter evenly between prepared muffin cups, filling about 3/4 of the way. Bake for 18–22 minutes, or until puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let rest for 5 minutes in the tin, then carefully invert onto a serving dish.
7. Serve: Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle with warm butterscotch sauce and sprinkle with finishing sea salt.

*To bake in one large dish:
Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish. Add the full batter and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out cleanly from the center. Remove from the oven and switch to broil. Pour 1/3 of the butterscotch sauce over the top and broil for about 1 minute, until bubbling. Serve warm with ice cream, remaining sauce, and a sprinkle of sea salt.