Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding
This vegan sticky toffee pudding (or sticky date pudding) is just like the classic British dessert but without dairy and eggs! A warm and moist sponge cake is covered in a generous amount of gooey toffee sauce. This dessert is irresistible!
Ingredients
Puddings
- 1 cup (225g) pitted medjool dates chopped (note 1)
- ½ cup (115g) vegan butter (ideally chilled), or 1/2 cup (120g) neutral oil (note 2)
- 1 ⅔ cups (400g) dairy-free milk
- 1 ½ cups (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
- ½ teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter or oil
Sticky Toffee Sauce
- 1 ½ cups (340g) dairy-free cream (note 4)
- ¾ cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (75g) vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the puddings:
- Add the chopped dates and dairy-free milk to a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 5-10 minutes or the dates are very soft. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the butter and stir until it has melted.
- Mash the date mixture with a fork or blend with a blender or food processor. If you'd like some chunks of dates in your vegan sticky toffee pudding, only blend half of the mixture. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Using melted vegan butter or oil, generously grease around 9 pudding tins (mine were 7cm wide and 7cm tall) or a 12-cup muffin tray. Or line an 8-inch (20cm) square baking tin with parchment paper. If using pudding tins, place them on a large baking tray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined. Add the date mixture and mix until just combined.
- Divide the batter into your pudding tins or pour into your large baking tin. If needed, smooth the top of the pudding(s).
- If you're using pudding moulds, bake them for 25 minutes. If using a muffin tin, bake them for 20 minutes. If you're making a large pudding, bake for 32-37 minutes. If you use a ceramic dish, your pudding may take a few extra minutes to bake. The pudding is ready when you can insert a toothpick into the middle and it comes out clean. Remove the pudding from the oven and place the tin(s) on a cooling rack.
Make the toffee sauce (while your pudding is cooking):
- Add the cream, sugar and butter to a large saucepan. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and 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(s) are still warm, prick many holes into the surface and drizzle 1/2 cup of toffee sauce on top. For individual puddings, this will be around 1 tablespoon of sauce per serve.
- If you made individual puddings, invert them on a plate and serve with the remaining toffee sauce. If you made a larger pudding, cut it into slices and serve with the remaining toffee sauce. Serve the pudding warm with vegan vanilla ice cream or dairy-free custard.
- Store leftover pudding and sauce separately in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat the pudding and sauce in the microwave or the oven.
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.
- Alternatively, you can use coconut sugar. Granulated sugar will also work but the puddings will have less flavour.
- The sauce will work with a vegan double cream (that's normally used for whipping), a pouring cream (such as Oatly), or coconut cream.