Apple Sticky Toffee Pudding (vegan)
Soft and gooey apple sticky toffee pudding (or sticky date pudding) reinvents a classic dessert into a cozy fall treat. A warm cinnamon sponge cake sweetened with dates and brown sugar is studded with apples and soaked in an irresistible cinnamon toffee sauce.
Simple Ingredients You’ll Need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Medjool dates gives these apple sticky toffee puddings their classic caramel flavor! The dates also act as a partial egg replacer as they bind the ingredients, so you don’t need to make/find a special egg replacer. Instead of medjool dates, you can also use dried dates though I suggest adding an extra dash of milk as they’re a bit drier.
Baking powder and baking soda. We’re using two raising agents to counteract the heaviness of the dates. Through testing, I found that the puddings rise more if you add the baking soda with the dry ingredients, rather than mixing it with the hot date mixture. Heat activates baking soda, and we want this to happen in the oven, not on the stovetop!
Apples. I prefer using sweet snacking apples, such as Fuji, Gala or Honeycrisp as their sweetness complements the toffee pudding. If you prefer a less-sweet pudding, use Granny Smith apples.
Dairy-free cream for the toffee sauce. I used a thickened plant cream but you can also use pouring cream (such as Oatly) or coconut cream.
Vegan butter for a cozy nostalgic flavor in the puddings and sauce. I used a vegan block butter for both, though the pudding will work with a spreadable vegan butter or neutral oil. The sauce won’t have the same flavor without butter. If you’re in a pinch, you can use coconut oil, although I recommend adding extra salt for depth of flavor.
This recipe has been adapted from my popular sticky toffee puddings! For this apple version, I reduced the milk because apples add a lot of moisture to the pudding.
Prepare the Date Mixture
First, soften the dates by cooking them with the milk. We need soft dates for the cake batter! It usually takes 5-10 minutes for the dates to soften. Here are some tips:
- When you’ve cooked the dates, blend the mixture with a stick blender, food processor or mash it well with a fork. If you would like some chunks of dates in your apple sticky toffee pudding, mash only half of the mixture.
- When you have mashed your dates, mix through the cold butter and diced apples. The cold butter helps cool down the mixture quicker. And the apples will start to soften, which will reduce the overall baking time.
Finally, let the date cool until it’s slightly warm or at room temperature.
Make the Pudding Sponge Cake
Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, including the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt if using. Then add the cooled apple date mixture and mix until just combined. For the best results, here are some tips:
- Really make sure your date mixture has cooled down. If your date mixture is still hot, it will activate the raising agents before the pudding reaches the oven, and your pudding won’t be as fluffy.
- Measure your flour accurately using the spoon and level method, or with a kitchen scale. Adding more flour to the batter will make the pudding denser.
Depending on how hot your oven runs, the pudding takes around 42-47 minutes to bake. It’s ready when you insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. Try to insert the toothpick in a few spots because sometimes a piece of apple can catch onto the toothpick and wipe it clean, even though there’s still raw batter in the pudding.
Prepare the Toffee Sauce
While your pudding is baking, prepare the toffee sauce! Add the cream, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla to a large saucepan and cook over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, stir the mixture then simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened to your desired consistency. Keep in mind that the sauce will thicken as it cools down.
Initially, the sauce will be a light brown color, but it will deepen in color over time. If you prefer a thinner sauce, cook it for less time. Or if you prefer a thicker sauce, cook it for longer.
TIP: If your sauce starts to separate, this means you’ve cooked the sauce at too high a heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and let the mixture cool down. Add a dash of cream and mix until the sauce has emulsified again, then slowly return it back to the heat.
When you remove the pudding from the oven, prick it with lots of holes and drizzle about 1/2 cup of toffee sauce on top. Eventually, the pudding will absorb the sauce and become irresistibly gooey!
Customizing This Recipe
The pudding and toffee sauce would be incredible with additional warm spices, such as ground ginger, cardamom and cloves. You can also add a chopped apple to the sauce (at the beginning of cooking) for extra texture and flavor.
Yes! This recipe works well in:
– A 9-inch square pan for around 35-40 minutes
– Individual pudding molds. Depending on the size of your mold, you’ll get around 10-12 puddings and will need to bake them for around 35 minutes. You can see how individual puddings look in my classic sticky toffee pudding recipe.
– Standard muffin pan, such as a USA muffin pan. I got 14-16 domed puddings and baked them for around 30 minutes.
More Cozy Apple Desserts
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Apple Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients
Date Mixture
- 1 cup (225g) pitted medjool dates, chopped (note 1)
- 1 ⅓ cup (300g) dairy-free milk
- ½ cup (115g) vegan butter, chilled (note 2 for alternatives)
- 2 x (~275g) peeled and chopped small apples, weighed after peeling
Pudding
- 1 ½ cup (190g) all-purpose plain flour, spoon and levelled
- ½ cup (100g) packed light brown sugar, (note 3)
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda, also known as bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt, if using unsalted butter or oil
Sticky Toffee Sauce
- 1 ½ cup (340g) dairy-free cream, (note 4)
- ¾ cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (75g) vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Make the date mixture:
- Add the chopped dates and dairy-free milk to a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the dates are very soft. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Blend the date mixture with a stick blender or food processor, or mash it with a fork. Be careful if the mixture is hot! If you'd like some chunks of dates in your sticky toffee pudding, only blend half of the mixture. Add the chilled butter and apple pieces and mix until the butter has melted. Let the mixture cool until it's warm or at room temperature.
Make the pudding:
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Or generously grease 12 individual pudding molds (the number of puddings you'll get will depend on the size of your molds) or a 12-cup muffin tray. If using pudding molds, place them on a large baking tray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until combined. Add the apple date mixture and mix until just combined.
- Scoop the batter into your cake pan (or individual molds) and smooth the surface.
- If you're using a square baking pan, bake the pudding for around 42-47 minutes. If you're using individual molds, bake them for around 30-35 minutes. The pudding is ready when you can insert a toothpick into the middle and it comes out clean. Try to insert the toothpick in a few places to double-check, as the apple pieces can wipe the toothpick clean. Place the pudding on a cooling rack.
Make the toffee sauce (while your pudding is baking):
- Add the cream, sugar and butter to a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Let the butter melt and simmer the mixture for 5-10 minutes until the sauce turns golden brown. For a thinner sauce, cook for less time. For a thicker sauce, cook for longer.
Serve and store:
- When the pudding is still warm, use a toothpick to prick many holes into the surface and pour 1/2 cup of toffee sauce on top. For individual puddings, this will be around 1 tablespoon of sauce per serve.
- Cut the pudding into slices. Serve the pudding hot or warm with a generous drizzle of toffee sauce. If desired, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dairy-free custard.
- Store leftover pudding and sauce in separate airtight containers in the fridge for 3-5 days. Reheat the pudding and sauce in the microwave or the oven and serve hot or warm.
Notes
- Dried dates will also work for this recipe. If using, add an extra dash of milk to the mixture.
- I used a vegan block butter but this recipe will also work with a spreadable vegan butter. A neutral-flavored oil will also work in the pudding.
- Alternatively, you can use coconut sugar. Granulated sugar will also work but the puddings will have less depth of flavor.
- The sauce will work with a vegan double cream (that’s normally used for whipping), a pouring cream (such as Oatly), or coconut cream.
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Can I make the cake a day before,and dress it up the day of?
Yes you can, just make sure you serve it warm!
I haven’t tried this yet, but am wondering if you think it could work with gluten free flour? Thanks
Hi Brita, I haven’t tested this with gluten-free flour but it may work with King Arthur’s measure for measure flour as that brand tends to work with most of my recipes. Hope that helps!
made this for desert for my family, everyone loved it including those who were non vegan.
Thank you for sharing! We’re so glad to hear it was a hit with the whole family ❤️
I had my own caramel sauce, so I used that but otherwise followed the recipe exactly ! It’s definitely pudding-like, I’d say bread pudding texture. Very good – best eaten the same day!
Yay, we’re happy you liked it! Thank you for trying the recipe!
what makes this a pudding rather than just a cake? do you think the pudding would be ok w/o the sauce? it looks like just a good basic apple cake.
This is based on the classic British sticky toffee pudding which is essentially a variety of cake with sauce. The pudding cake is denser, moister and stickier than an American cake. While you can have it without sauce, it’ll taste more flat and I still recommend eating it warm otherwise the texture will be off.