Easy Sticky Toffee Pudding Without Dates Recipe (2024)

If you’ve been looking for a sticky toffee pudding recipe without dates then you’ve come to the right place. This crave-able, gooey and delicious dessert is a mainstay on menus all over the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Though here in Australia it is referred to as sticky date pudding, it is definitely possible to make this incredible dessert without the characteristic dates and still retain its essence.

Consisting of two elements – a warm sponge cake and a toffee sauce – sticky toffee pudding wasn’t popularised as a dessert until the 1970s. Though numerous places in both England and Scotland lay claim to the origins of the pudding, one thing is for certain – it is such a popular dessert for a reason.

This sticky toffee pudding recipe uses mostly pantry ingredients and it comes together pretty quickly and easily. In fact, it’s easy enough to whip up for a casual sweet treat but impressive enough to end a holiday dinner with.

Topped with some vanilla ice cream (and maybe with a glass of eggnog on the side…), it’s sure to be the highlight of any meal.

How to Make Sticky Toffee Pudding Without Dates

The first step to making this recipe is to make the sponge – which I’ve developed to be in individual servings, rather than in a large cake.

You first need to prep your ramekins, which is super easy.

Simply rub the entire surface with butter and then coat it with demerara sugar – this will ensure they are easy to unmold when the time comes but also give a nice crunch on the exterior of your pudding. Now is a good time to preheat your oven, as well.

Now it’s time to make the batter. Begin with mixing together your dry ingredients – this includes flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk this to combine and set aside.

Then mix your wet ingredients. So, to a large bowl, add in some softened butter, dark brown sugar, molasses and a room temperature egg.

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Using a hand mixer, beat this together until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then increase the speed of the mixer and beat for a good three or four minutes.

You’ll notice the mixture becomes light, fluffy and moussy in texture. This step is essential to having a light, airy sponge so don’t skip it.

Then, add one-third of the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Use your hand mixer to just incorporate this.

Then, add half of your milk and mix to incorporate. Repeat these additions twice more. When you have your third addition of dry ingredients left, use a spatula to fold this completely into the mixture.

Divide your batter evenly across your ramekins. You want to make sure that they are no more than two-thirds of the way full otherwise, they will rise too much.

If you want to be very precise, you’re looking for about 100 grams of batter per ramekin – I prefer to weigh it out to ensure that everything is filled equally.

Now, put a kettle of water on to boil and line a large baking dish with a tea towel. Arrange your filled ramekins over the tea towel and pour the boiling water into the baking dish ensuring that the water comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Sticky toffee pudding is traditionally a steamed pudding and baking it in a water bath like this replicates the texture you would get if you did steam the sponges. The tea towel is there to prevent the ramekins from sliding around.

Very carefully transfer your baking dish to the oven and bake the puddings until they’re puffed and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean – about 35-45 minutes (it can depend on your oven how long this takes, so make sure to keep a keen eye on them!).

While your puddings are baking, it’s time to make the toffee sauce! This recipe makes a lot of sauce, so you may have some leftover (it’s fantastic drizzled over ice cream, so it’s no problem in my book to have some extra).

To a large saucepan, add half of your cream along with some more butter, dark brown sugar, molasses and salt.

Set the pan over medium heat and, stirring frequently with a spatula, bring the mixture to a boil. Allow your toffee sauce to boil for a few minutes before removing from the heat.

Then, swirl in the remaining cream into the sauce and stir until it’s evenly distributed. You may notice that this sauce is very similar to the filling for my pecan bars!

Once you’ve taken your puddings out of the oven, allow them to cook for about 10 minutes (removed from the water bath) before trying to unmold them.

To do this. run a paring knife around the edges and set a place on top of the ramekin. Flip it over and give it a sturdy shake to free the sponge from the ramekin.

Top the pudding with an ample amount of toffee sauce. Then, in my opinion, no sticky toffee pudding (whether it has dates or not!) is complete without adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. All that’s left to do is serve and enjoy!

Sticky Toffee Pudding Without Dates

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

This decadent dessert is super simple to make and is incredibly delicious. Perfect to end a special meal, it doesn't use any dates and still retains all of the classic flavours associated with this delectable pudding.

Ingredients

Puddings

• 3-4 tablespoons demerara sugar, for lining the ramekins
• 100g (¾ cup) plain flour
• 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda (bi-carb soda)
• 3g (½ teaspoon) salt (see note 1)
• 50g (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 75g (⅓ cup) dark brown sugar (soft dark brown sugar)
• 30g (2 tablespoons) molasses (or black treacle)
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 100ml (⅓ cup) whole milk
• Vanilla ice cream or pouring cream, for serving

Toffee Sauce

• 120ml (½ cup) heavy cream (double cream), divided
• 100g (½ cup) dark brown sugar (soft dark brown sugar)
• 15g (1 tablespoon) molasses (or black treacle)
• 25g (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 3g (½ teaspoon) salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly coat 4 175ml/6oz ramekins with butter, ensuring all sides and the bottom are evenly coated. Dust each ramekin with a bit of demerara sugar, tapping and swirling to coat every surface and tapping out the excess. Set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add the butter, brown sugar, molasses and egg. Using a hand mixer, mix everything until just combined on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium-high for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is pale, moussy and has significantly increased in size.
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add half of the milk. Mix on low speed until just combined. Repeat this step twice more, Add the final ⅓ of the flour, folding with a spatula to fully incorporate.
5. Evenly divide the batter into the prepared ramekins. Line a large baking dish with a clean tea towel and arrange the ramekins on top of it (the tea towel is to prevent the ramekins from sliding around when moving the dish). Pour some boiling water into the baking dish until the waterline comes about halfway up the ramekins.
6. Carefully transfer the baking dish to the oven. Bake the puddings until they are puffed and golden and a toothpick or skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean - about 35-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before unmolding.
7. While the puddings are baking, make the toffee sauce. In a small saucepan, combine 60ml (¼ cup) of the cream, the sugar, molasses, butter and salt. Set the pan over medium heat and, stirring frequently with a silicone spatula, bring the mixture to a boil. Allow the mixture to bubble, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.
8. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remainder of the cream. Set aside (see note 2).
9. To unmold the puddings, run a paring knife or mini offset spatula around the perimeter of the ramekin to loosen the sponge from the dish. Place a plate over the top of the ramekin and invert, giving a strong and vigorous shake to ensure that the pudding releases from the mold. Carefully remove the ramekin and repeat with the remaining puddings.
10. Generously drizzle each pudding with toffee sauce and top with vanilla ice cream or pouring cream. Serve immediately.

Notes

1. Depending on how coarsely ground your salt is, volumetric measurements of salt can vary greatly. I highly recommend using the weight measurement for salt in order to get consistent results.
2. The toffee sauce, cooled and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, will keep for up to one week. Heat in the microwave or on the stovetop before serving. If you have excess after serving the puddings, it is fantastic drizzled over ice cream.
3. If you are feeding a crowd, this recipe can easily be scaled up. Keep in mind that puddings may take longer to bake if there are more of them in the oven.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 564Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 124mgSodium: 947mgCarbohydrates: 74gFiber: 1gSugar: 54gProtein: 6g

Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.

Making sticky toffee pudding without dates is super easy and the results are something truly to die for. You will be hard-pressed to find anyone who is disappointed when this is served for dessert!

Do you want to make sticky toffee puddings without dates? Have any questions about this recipe? Let me know in the comments!