Sticky Toffee Pudding
What sets this classic English dessert apart from its cousin, the equally revered treacle sponge, is: dates. No dates, no sticky toffee pudding.Traditionally STP is steamed in a ceramic basin but since it’s mixed like a muffin, I say why not bake it like a muffin?This recipe first appeared in Season 1 of Good Eats: The Return.
ACTIVE TIME: 45 minutes minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes
Yield: 6
Toffee Sauce
- 11 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
- 4 1/2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Pudding
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups pitted Medjool date meat, divided
- 3/4 cup water, boiling
- 1 large egg, plus 1 large yolk
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
6-cup popover pan
Food processor
Skewers
Toffee Sauce
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then add the sugar, molasses, espresso powder and salt. Whisk to work out any lumps, then continue to cook over low heat.
When bubbles appear at the edge of the pan, whisk in the cream and bring to a bare simmer. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and set aside.
Pudding
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350°F.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Place 1 cup (150 grams) of the pitted dates and the boiling water in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the standard S-blade. Allow to soak for 2 minutes, then pulse 3 times.
Add the egg, egg yolk, butter, both sugars, the vanilla extract and espresso powder to the food processor and pulse 5 times. Follow with the flour mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup (50 grams) dates and pulse 3 more times.
Coat the bottom of each well in a 6-cup popover pan with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the toffee sauce. Follow with the batter, filling each cup 3/4 of the way full (a number 10 or 3.25-ounce disher works perfectly here if you have one). You may have a few tablespoons of batter left over depending on the size of your popover pan.
Bake for 11 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and tap either on the oven door or countertop 3 times to deflate. Rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake another 11 minutes or until the middle of the cakes reach 210°F.
Place the popover pan on a half-sheet pan and run a skewer around the outer rims to loosen the cakes. Pierce each cake several times with the skewer, poking all the way down to the bottom of the pan. Pour 1 tablespoon of toffee sauce over each pudding and let soak for 30 minutes.
When ready to serve, heat your broiler to high and broil the puddings until bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and immediately run the skewer around the outer rims, cover with a clean sheet pan and invert to release.
Serve with more toffee sauce spooned over each pudding.