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Home Cosy Desserts

Sticky Date Pudding

By:Nagi
Published:13 Jul '18Updated:13 Nov '20
426 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Sticky Date Pudding – you’re my favourite and always will be. Also known as Sticky Toffee Pudding, the simple trick that makes all the difference is to pour some Butterscotch Sauce over the warm cake when it comes out of the oven. It makes it ultra moist and gives it that intense dark colour. Plus, more sauce to serve, of course!

Butterscotch Sauce being poured over Sticky Toffee Pudding on a white plate, ready to be eaten

STICKY DATE PUDDING – A CHILDHOOD FAVOURITE

Who else has childhood memories of Sara Lee frozen Sticky Date Pudding??

It is the only store bought dessert my mother ever bought – and only on special occasions. And as much as I loved it, my one gripe was always that there was not enough Butterscotch Sauce to go around.

Never fear. You won’t have that problem with this recipe! 😂

I know this recipe is called Sticky Toffee Pudding by most of the world – other than Australia and New Zealand it seems. And given that dates are the key ingredient in the pudding, I would say we’ve got it right for this one!!

Dates being mashed for Sticky Date Pudding

DATES ARE KEY

I am pretty sure this is the only recipe I use dates for. And I realise that the photo above of the date sludge may look thoroughly unappetising to some people, but rest assured even if you’re a date hater that you can’t taste it in the end result.

The dates contribute to the stickiness and moistness of the sponge, as well as giving it colour. Don’t ask me for a sub! (Oh wait, you can. Prunes. Pretty much the same thing! 😂)

ONE FOR EVERYONE – OR A BIG ONE TO SHARE

I think it’s more common here in Australia to make one pudding cake that is then cut to serve. Sara Lee frozen dessert style. Whereas in the UK it seems more common to make individual puddings.

I might be wrong here. But either way will work fine, and I’ve provided cook times and directions for both.

Sticky Date Pudding with butterscotch sauce being poured over

Preparation of individual Sticky Toffee Puddings

SECRET TIP: DOUSE HOT PUDDING WITH SAUCE

If you’ve ever made one of those cakes that you douse with syrup, you’ll know exactly what you’re in for with this trick!

It goes like this – as soon as the pudding comes out of the oven, poke lots of holes using a skewer (I find this strangely satisfying but let’s not read too much into this), then pour over some hot butterscotch sauce.

This makes the pudding intensely moist as well as staining the sponge to give it that signature dark brown colour, rather than being a pale golden colour which many sticky toffee pudding recipes are.

It also means this pudding keeps for days and days in the fridge and once reheated, it’s just like it’s fresh out of the oven.

The only question is – will you serve yours with cream or ice cream? I’m an ice cream gal, all the way!! – Nagi x


More cosy warm desserts for cold winter nights!

  • Apple Crumble – personal favourite!

  • Strawberry Crumble

  • Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

  • Bread and Butter Pudding

  • Magic Caramel Self Saucing Baked Apples

Warm butterscotch sauce being poured over Sticky Date Pudding topped with ice cream

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

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Butterscotch Sauce being poured over Sticky Toffee Pudding on a white plate, ready to be eaten

Sticky Date Pudding

Author: Nagi
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Cook: 35 minutes mins
Total: 50 minutes mins
Dessert
4.95 from 129 votes
Servings7 - 9 people
Tap or hover to scale
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Recipe video above. You're my favourite pudding - and always will be.... My favourite part is poking holes in the pudding and pouring over the hot butterscotch sauce so it soaks in, making it so ultra moist... And then of course serving it with even more sauce! 

Ingredients

  • 280g / 9oz pitted dates , roughly chopped (Note 1)
  • 1 tsp baking soda / bi carb soda
  • 1 cup / 250 ml boiling water
  • 40 g / 1/4 cup brown sugar , loosely packed
  • 80 g / 6 tbsp unsalted butter , softened
  • 2 eggs , at room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups / 185 g plain flour (all purpose)
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Butterscotch Sauce:

  • 200 g/ 1 1/4 cups brown sugar , loosely packed
  • 375 ml ml / 1 1/2 cups thickened cream (heavy cream)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 70 g / 5 tbsp unsalted butter

Serving:

  • Ice cream or dolloping cream

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180C/350F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan/convection).
  • Grease 7 pudding moulds (Note 2) with butter or grease and line a 20 cm / 8" square cake pan with overhang.

Mashed Dates:

  • Place dates in a bowl, sprinkle over baking soda. Pour over boiling water. Stand 10 minutes, then mash well with a potato masher (or fork) until it resembles sloppy porridge (see video for texture / thickness). (Note 3)

Batter:

  • Place butter and sugar in a bowl. Beat until combined and smooth.
  • Add eggs, beat until incorporated.
  • Add flour then sprinkle baking powder across the surface. Mix until flour is incorporated.
  • Add dates, mix quickly until dates are well incorporated into the batter. (Note 2) Follow directions to make one pudding or individual ones.

One Pudding:

  • Pour into cake pan, smooth surface. Bake 35 minutes or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  • While still hot, poke about 40 holes all over the surface using a skewer. Pour over 1/2 cup Butterscotch Sauce, leave to soak for 10 minutes.
  • Use overhang to lift cake out. Cut, serve warm with remaining warm sauce and ice cream or cream.

Baking Individual Puddings:

  • Pour batter into pudding moulds, only fill 2/3 of the way up.
  • Bake for 25 minutes, or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  • While still hot, poke about 10 holes on the surface of the pudding. Spoon over 1 tbsp of Butterscotch Sauce per Pudding. Leave to soak 10 minutes.
  • Turn pudding moulds upside down on serving plate. Serve warm with remaining warm sauce and ice cream or cream.

Butterscotch Sauce:

  • Place ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Once butter is melted, stir, then bring to simmer.
  • Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring once, then remove from heat. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes:

1. Dates sub: Prunes can also be used but change as follows: Use 1 1/4 cups boiling water, simmer with prunes in saucepan for 10 minutes. Remove form heat, stir through bicarb, cool then mash per recipe. Proceed with recipe.
2. Moulds: My pudding moulds are 210ml 5 x 8 cm. Any size is fine, just fill 2/3 of the way up - need a bit of room for the sauce to pool around the edges. Large muffin tins will also work. If using standard muffin tins, just pour the sauce over a bit at a time, giving it time to soak in. Makes 12 standard muffins - they aren't as tall as pictured.
3. This gives the pudding its dark brown colour. Unless you mash well and mix well into the batter, the cake ends up a pale golden colour with splotches of dates.
4. General notes:
- This recipe probably makes more sauce than you need - but it's better to err on the side of caution!
- An electric beater will make your life easier but a whisk + wooden spoon will work fine too without exerting yourself too much. Just make sure your butter is well softened and easy to mix by hand.
- Poking holes into the pudding and pouring the sauce over to soak stains the pudding sponge a darker colour as well as adding more moisture into the pudding.
- Sticky Date Pudding is indulgent and very sweet, from both the dates + sugar in sauce. If you don't have a sweet tooth, this dessert is not for you! To reduce sweetness, you can skimp on the sauce. Or make a lighter, less sweet sauce as follows: Use half the sugar, butter and cream, make per recipe. When it simmers, add 1 cup low fat milk, then 2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp water. Simmer to thicken. 
4. Make Ahead: Exceptional for reheating because it's so moist. Poke the holes and soak with sauce, reserve remaining sauce for serving. Best way to reheat is in the microwave because it keeps the pudding moist.
5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 9 servings and that all Sauce is consumed, which it may not be. I like to ensure there is enough Sauce because running out is a disaster. Nutrition for 7 individual puddings is 703 calories per serving. They are very generous sizes with loads of sauce (because the sauce recipe makes enough for 9 servings for the pudding cake), so when I scale the Sauce down by 20%, it reduces to 606 calories. Calories per serve for lightened up sauce (see Less Sweet Sauce above) is 477 calories.
Keywords: Sticky Date Pudding
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

LIFE OF DOZER

If you look real close on the right side, you’ll see the tiniest glimpse of my hand as I desperately tried to hold Dozer back from doing a face plant into the Pupcakes…..

In all seriousness though! I made these Pupcakes for the RSPCA, to let people know about the RSPCA Cupcake Day which is on 20 August 2018. It’s a day when bakers from all across Australia gather at their workplace, school or home to raise funds to help all the pooches and other animals who aren’t as fortunate as Dozer.

Join in or find out more about this worthy cause, for all the pooches who aren’t as lucky as ours. Don’t be surprised if I announce that I’m setting up a cupcake stand on the streets! 😂

Dozer the golden retriever eyeing off doggy cupcakes - for RSPCA Cupcake Day

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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426 Comments

  1. Laura says

    October 11, 2023 at 7:24 am

    5 stars
    I made this last night for my sister’s birthday. I’m not much of a sticky date person, but I must say it’s delicious! And quite easy to make too with readily available ingredients.

    Reply
  2. Jayne says

    October 10, 2023 at 1:48 am

    I made them last night…delicious…I did them in ramkins… I was wondering where you got yours that you used for the individual ones?

    Reply
  3. Petrina says

    October 9, 2023 at 10:07 pm

    5 stars
    Another Nagi winner haven’t made a sticky date pud for ages. Just put 1 cup of sugar in sauce. Was very nice and fluffy

    Reply
  4. Mari Magill says

    October 2, 2023 at 4:44 pm

    5 stars
    This is, the very best dessert I have ever made thanks to you. I have a family member who was given dates & didn’t know any other way to eat them. I mentioned I had this recipe & she gave 5lbs of dates!
    Well when I served her this dessert she was humming while she tasted this with a great big smile.
    After she finished , she asked for the dates back & the recipe! ❤️😂
    this is truly the very best sticky date pudding ever!

    Reply
  5. Sheryl Granade says

    September 21, 2023 at 11:18 am

    Can you add vanilla to the date pudding itself?

    Reply
    • Petrina says

      October 9, 2023 at 10:11 pm

      Don’t see why you couldn’t I also added pinch of salt to both pudding and sauce

      Reply
  6. Erin says

    August 26, 2023 at 10:42 pm

    5 stars
    Best sticky date pudding ever!! I have made this countless times and it’s always SO GOOD but I’ve just altered it for the first time to be dairy free for my little ones intolerances.

    For the pudding I swapped the butter to coconut oil, then for the sauce I left out the butter and changed the cream to 400g can coconut cream and added extra 1/4 vanilla

    I 1.5x the recipe to make it bigger for my rectangular oven dish and then I find the amount of sauce is perfect. Everyone at church absolutely loved it and couldn’t even tell it was dairy free!!! Thank you

    Reply
  7. Mariam says

    August 22, 2023 at 11:47 pm

    This is now my moms new favorite dessert 😁

    Reply
  8. Jonique says

    August 21, 2023 at 11:12 am

    5 stars
    This is a dish of absolute deliciousness. Everyone absolutely devoured these. Made as one pudding as I didn’t have the individual pudding moulds. Would highly recommend trying this recipe if you enjoy sticky date pudding.

    Reply
  9. lynn says

    August 18, 2023 at 8:03 am

    5 stars
    Great recipe. Worked out perfectly according to the instructions. Just like all of Nagi’s recipes. I selected the less sweet sauce option and it was perfect. Thank you.

    Reply
  10. Dianne says

    July 23, 2023 at 11:30 am

    5 stars
    Simple recipe with tasty results. I changed up the sauce a little by adding 2tblspn of molasses to deepen colour & flavour and also a pinch of salt. Delicious.

    Reply
  11. sesame says

    July 20, 2023 at 4:30 am

    4 stars
    made this and it was so so good!! the process was fairly easy and it took little time to bring everything together. the soft cake paired with the sticky butterscotch and the vanilla ice cream cutting through the richness is absolutely heavenly! the only thing i would as is a teaspoon or so of salt to the butterscotch, i did so and it was a perfect balance and not overly sweet. will definitely make again!

    Reply
  12. Alex says

    July 16, 2023 at 3:06 pm

    Hi everyone! Any recommendations for a gluten-free version of this? Would almond meal for the flour suffice?

    Reply
    • R says

      August 16, 2023 at 8:28 pm

      I would be interested to know as well please

      Reply
    • Sharmila Ramjee says

      August 15, 2023 at 6:40 pm

      5 stars
      I made this recipe gluten free by using the same weight of almond flour. Substituted sugar with coconut sugar for the cake and sauce. Perfect!

      Reply
      • Alex says

        September 5, 2023 at 8:44 pm

        Awesome, thankyou!

        Reply
    • sesame says

      July 20, 2023 at 1:22 am

      i have no idea if almond flour would work, however i saw somebody else comment that they used gluten free flour and it turned out well so maybe try that!

      Reply
  13. Marin says

    July 1, 2023 at 6:06 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely perfect! Fluffy & light sponge with an indulgent butterscotch. Had it with a high quality organic cream, as ice cream would make it a sugar overkill. It’s better than Nigella Lawson’s recipe! I wanted to lick my bowl afterwards.

    The only addition i made was adding 1/4 tsp fine sea salt with the flour in the cake & 1/8 tsp fine sea salt in the butterscotch. Does wonders & lifts up it’s flavour in a balanced way.

    Reply
  14. Anne says

    July 1, 2023 at 5:21 pm

    5 stars
    So delicious. I’ve never eaten this before since I don’t have a sweet tooth. However, I made a square cake and found it just right. For main I had Pea and Ham soup and the Artisan Bread. I’ve been making this from Zoe’s recipe for two years now and liked your addition of uncovering then baking for an extra 12 minutes. Thank you Nagi, you are an inspiration.

    Reply
  15. Amy says

    June 21, 2023 at 9:06 pm

    Made this recipe for the first time, so amazing… Everyone wanted seconds… Ohlalalaaa
    Did them 2 days in advance as individuals and put the sauce over as per recipe and microwaved them to keep moist when heating up and they were perfect…thanks Nagi for once again a delicious recipe.

    Reply
  16. lucretia battle says

    June 15, 2023 at 1:28 pm

    5 stars
    have used lots of different sticky date recipes in the past and have been very sweet and some sickly- made this for the first time today- yum yum- super easy , moist and not overly sweet and i am a sweet tooth – now my go to recipe for sticky date 5/5- thanks

    Reply
  17. Mark Freeman says

    June 5, 2023 at 3:37 am

    5 stars
    Wonderful dessert 10/10 the kids absolutely loved it, they have asked for this again and again. Our elderly neighbour thinks we are the best cooks thanks to your recipes.

    Reply
  18. Juliette Gilbert says

    June 5, 2023 at 3:23 am

    5 stars
    I made this for the second time yesterday exactly to the recipe and it worked out perfectly again. I pre made it earlier in the day then reheated in the oven uncovered at 350 for 10 mins. Delicious recipe.

    Reply
  19. Klaudia says

    May 26, 2023 at 5:17 am

    5 stars
    It was absolutely the best sweet thing I’ve eaten during my whole life. Highly reccomend, my family’s favourite!

    Reply
  20. Jackie says

    May 22, 2023 at 5:21 pm

    Hi Nagi,
    I’ve made this and it is wonderfully delicious!
    I’m just wondering if I could substitute the plain flour and baking powder with gluten free self raising flour?

    Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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