Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding: a moist sponge cake with dates, drizzled with warm toffee sauce. This classic British dessert is the ultimate comfort food!
The Ultimate Comfort Dessert
We have to share our absolute favourite dessert with you: Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding. It’s the ultimate comfort food, perfect for any occasion. The rich, moist texture combined with the heavenly vegan caramel sauce makes it completely irresistible. Whether we are hosting a big family gathering or simply treating ourselves to something special, this vegan sticky date pudding always hits the spot and leaves everyone craving more.
Serving Suggestions
Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding is best served warm, with the vegan caramel sauce generously drizzled over the top. Pair it with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream for an extra indulgent treat. The warm cake and toffee sauce with the ice cream make for a delightful combination.
Tips for Perfect Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding
To make the best Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding, a few simple tips can make all the difference. Here are our favourite tricks to ensure your pudding turns out perfect every time.
Soak Your Dates: First, make sure to soak your dates properly. Dates are the star ingredient in this dessert, providing natural sweetness and a wonderful, sticky texture. Soaking the dates in boiling water softens them and enhances their sweetness.
Texture Preference: If you love chunks, coarsely chop and soak dates in hot water for 10-15 minutes, then fold them into the batter. For a smooth texture, finely chop, soak in boiling water, and blend into a paste. We like our dates to have texture within the pudding.
Mix Gently: When combining the wet and dry ingredients, be sure to fold gently to avoid overmixing. This will help achieve a light, fluffy pudding that isn’t too dense.
Add Sauce for Extra Moisture: Once you remove the pudding from the oven, poke several holes all over the cake using a skewer or fork. Pour half of the warm toffee sauce over the pudding, letting it soak into the holes. This will make it extra moist and flavorful.
Let it Rest: After baking, let the pudding sit for a few minutes before serving. This allows the flavours to come together and makes it easier to cut and serve.
Storing Leftovers
If you have any leftovers (which is rare in our experience!), here’s how to store them:
Refrigerate: Store any leftover pudding in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The sauce can be stored separately in a jar or combined with the pudding.
Reheat: To enjoy your pudding again, reheat individual portions in the microwave for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until warmed through. The toffee sauce will thicken in the fridge. Reheat gently before serving to restore its smooth, pourable consistency.
Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients
Vegan Toffee Cake
- 185 g dates
- 125 ml boiling water
- 225 ml oat milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 115 g unsalted plant-based butter
- 115 g light brown sugar
- 200 g self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda baking soda NOT baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- Pinch nutmeg
- 40 g black treacle
Vegan Sticky Toffee Sauce
- 150 g light brown sugar
- 120 g unsalted plant-based butter
- ½ tablespoon black treacle
- 220 ml plant-based cream
Instructions
Toffee Cake
- Chop your dates into chunky pieces, add to a bowl and cover with boiling water, soak for 10 minutes
- If you would prefer to not have chunks of dates in the cake, you can chop the dates finer or even blend them.
- Prepare the vegan buttermilk by adding the milk, vanilla essence and apple cider vinegar to a jug or bowl. Mix to combine and leave to thicken.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/180°C (320°F convection /356°F). Prepare a cake tin with parchment paper. We used a 20cm square oven-proof spring-form cake tin.
- In a large bowl cream the butter and light brown sugar together until pale and fluffy.
- Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, and nutmeg to the bowl and combine everything.
- Now add the vegan buttermilk and treacle then fold gently to incorporate. Try not to over mix the batter.
- Next add the dates along with the soaking liquid, gently folding through the mixture.
- Transfer to the prepared cake tin and cover with tin foil.
- Bake the pudding in the perheated oven for 30 mins. Remove the foil and bake for a further 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Toffee Sauce
- Meanwhile, make the vegan toffee sauce.
- In a medium pan, combine the light brown sugar and unsalted plant-based butter.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved completely. This should take about 3-5 mins
- Stir in the black treacle until well combined.
- Gradually pour in half of the plant-based cream while continuing to stir.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle boil for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 5-7 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure the sauce doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Once the sauce has thickened, remove it from the heat and add in the remainder of the cream. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
Serving Sticky Toffee Pudding
- Remove the sticky toffee pudding from the oven. Using a skewer, fork or chopstick poke holes evenly around the cake then pour over half of the warm toffee sauce.
- Reserve the remainder of the sauce for serving.
- Serve the sticky toffee pudding warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Top with a drizzle of warm toffee sauce.
