Sticky Toffee Pudding is the ultimate Lake District treat. Warm sponge cake steeped in dark buttery caramel. The original recipe was created by Francis Coulson at Sharrow Bay in the 1970s where it is still on offer every day in the restaurant. Cartmel Village Shop makes and sells their own extremely delicious version too. However, it is very easy to make at home and a bit more economical if you are cooking for large numbers.

Just to prove how easy – at Stirring Stuff  Cookery School, sticky toffee pudding was on the menu for the first of our two Men in the Kitchen classes . It was also a definite hit on the Back to Uni course – how to make friends fast – learn to cook a sticky toffee pudding!

Sticky Toffee Puddings with Caramel Sauce

Serves 4-6

175g chopped dates

175ml boiling water

½ teaspoon vanilla essence

2 teaspoon coffee essence or instant coffee

¾ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

75g butter, softened

150g caster sugar

2 eggs

175g self-raising flour

 

Caramel  Sauce

175g soft brown sugar

110g butter

120ml double cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 190 C/gas mark 5. Lightly butter a 1.5 litre oven proof dish

Put the chopped dates into a bowl and pour over the boiling water. Add the vanilla, coffee essence/granules. Add the bicarbonate of soda and let the liquid foam slightly. Set aside to cool while you prepared the sponge.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time and beat well to combine. Carefully mix in the flour.

Pour over the dates and their liquid and mix well to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish. It should come just over half way up the sides of the dish. The batter will rise and you need to leave space for the toffee sauce.

Put the dish on to a baking tray and into the centre of the oven to cook for 35 -40 minutes or until the sponge is risen and springy to the touch.

 Sauce

Put all of the sauce ingredients in a pan and heat gently until the sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. when the sugar is dissolved and the butter melted increase the heat slightly and bring the sauce very briefly to a bubble. Remove the pan from the hear and set it aside until the bubbles have subsided before pouring over the sponge.

Leave the pudding to cool for at least ten minutes before serving with thick double cream.

Make in advance or freeze:

This pudding can be frozen. Once it is complete simply allow the entire pudding to cool before wrapping the dish in freezer cling film and putting into the deepfreeze .

To defrost, simply remove from the deepfreeze 12 hours prior to serving and defrost in the fridge. Remove the cling film and reheat in a hot oven for 15 minutes or until warm through and the sauce is bubbling.