You are going to fall in love with this Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake Recipe that I am going to share with you today. Not only is it very simple to make, but its incredibly delicious, and a great make-ahead dessert that you can make a few days before you want to serve it, simply re-heating and saucing it when you want to serve it.
Before retiring I worked as a personal Chef for a family that lived in a Manor House down in Kent. We had our own cottage on the Manor Estate and I cooked for the family, three squares a day on a daily basis. On top of that I also cooked for special occasions such as Silver Service Dinner Parties, Ladies Luncheons and just about every special holiday going!
I did all the shopping, prepping, cooking and delivery of every meal, from one person on up to 25+ , and in the case of dinner parties that could mean 5 courses, not counting the appetisers I would to make to go along with pre-dinner drinks. I would usually make 3 or 4 of them. It was a great opportunity for me to stretch my abilities and grow as a chef. Money was no object as you can imagine. The lady of the house often spent in access of £500 on just the flowers for the table, so I had the best of ingredients to work with. In that way it was a dream job.
These Baby Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes were a very popular dessert that I would serve on occasion. Individual date cakes, topped with a sticky toffee sauce and served with more toffee sauce for pouring and double cream. Everyone loved them. I loved them too but not because of how delicious they were but because of the ease of preparation and for the fact that I could have them all but made up to two days before the occasion. As you can imagine with so much food and so many courses to prepare, I tried to have quite a few dishes that were simple to make ahead as well as being delicious.
This was a real favorite. You can bake the cakes and cover them with the sticky toffee sauce up to two days prior to serving. Cover and refrigerated, you only need take them out when you are ready to serve dessert and warm them up in a moderate oven while you warm up the remaining toffee sauce!
I would often have to double or triple the recipe depending on how many guests were in attendance. The cakes are single serving sized, moist and deliciously stogged full of lovely rich sticky dates . . .
The sticky toffee sauce is delectably delicious. You could almost be tempted to eat it with a spoon, its so tasty, but don't . . . its loaded with more than just flavour, lol. There be PLENTY of calories, butter, cream and sugar in it as well. That's what makes it so gorgeously rich and decadent!
Best reserved for special occasions . . .
Once reheated you simply use a spatula to scoop them into heated dessert plates and spoon more toffee sauce over them. Pass the remainder at the table for those who care to pour it over their desserts . . . Todd loves pouring cream with his . . .
I remember being really surprised when I moved over here to the UK and saw people pouring cream right from the jug over their desserts . . . as well as warm vanilla custard sauce . . . they do love their puddings here in the UK, and they have some of the best and most delicious in the world!
Decadent and delicious like Sticky Toffee Pudding, which comes from the Lake District. If you are ever visiting the Lake District do partake of it as they have a secret recipe up there which nobody likes to share with outsiders . . .
I wouldn't be surprised if when you cut them open their veins don't run with Sticky Toffee Sauce!!
This dessert is not as dark and as rich as theirs is up in Cartmel, but it IS pretty darned delicious all the same!
Put it this way, if you serve these at your next Dinner party you are sure to get the treasured reputation of being the Hostess with the Mostess!
Resistance is futile . . .
Yield: 10
Author: Marie Rayner
Baby Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes
Delicious, easy and impressive. What's even better is you can make it all up ahead of time the day before you are having company for dinner and reheat it all at the last minute to serve. These were a popular dessert I used to make for dinner parties when I cooked at Brenchley Manor.ingredients:
For the Cakes:- 7 ounces coarsely chopped pitted dates (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 240ml water ( 1 cup)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 235g plain flour (about 1 2/3 cups)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 250g caster sugar (scant 1 1/3 cups)
- 60g unsalted butter, room temperature (1/4 cup)
- 1 large free range egg
- 400g soft light brown sugar (2 cups packed)
- 120g unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
- 500ml of double cream (2 cups)
- 2 TBS dark rum or brandy
- Vanilla ice cream, pouring cream or sweetened whipped heavy cream
instructions:
How to cook Baby Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes
- Make the toffee sauce first. Whisk the sugar and butter together in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until the butter is melted. (The mixture will be grainy) Add the cream and bring to the boil. Boil until the mixture coats a spoon, whisking constantly. This will take about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Whisk in the rum or brandy. (I use a tsp of vanilla at home instead.) This can be done up to two days ahead. Just put into a bowl, cover and refrigerate. Rewarm before serving.
- To make the cakes, combine the dates and water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and then cook until the dates are soft, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. When cooled, whisk in the vanilla and baking soda.
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark4. Butter and flour 10 muffin or custard cups.
- Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together in another bowl. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture alternately with the date mixture in two additions, beating to blend well after each addition. Divide the batter equally amongst the prepared muffin cups.
- Bake the cakes for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out onto a baking sheet which you have lined with foil. If the cakes have rounded tops, trim them off so that they sit flat on the baking sheet. Spoon 2 TBS of the toffee sauce over each warm cake. Let cool completely. (This can be done a day ahead. Cover with foil and refrigerate.)
- When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Reheat the cakes on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Place onto hot serving plates and drizzle with any remaining toffee sauce (heated). Serve with cream or whipped cream.
Todd was in British Pudding Heaven with this. I don't know how he stays so thin. Most of them were sent next door to our neighbor. She has a big strapping lad who could polish off a few of these with one hand tied behind his back. Nobodies complaining!
Up tomorrow: Lemon Mousse