Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe

Prepare dates

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease an 8-inch square baking pan or six 6-ounce ramekins. Place chopped dates in a heatproof bowl, stir in instant espresso powder, then pour boiling water over the dates. Stir in baking soda and set aside to soften for 10 minutes; the mixture will become loose and syrupy.

Cream butter and sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and dark brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.

Combine wet ingredients

Add the eggs one at a time, beating briefly after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract. Fold in the date mixture (including any liquid).

Finish batter

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk into the butter-date mixture, mixing until just combined. The batter will be quite moist from the dates.

Bake

Pour batter into prepared pan or divide among ramekins. Bake in the preheated oven: 25–30 minutes for ramekins, 30–35 minutes for an 8-inch pan, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs (not raw batter). Remove from oven and let cool slightly while making sauces; poke small holes in the surface with a skewer to allow sauce to penetrate (optional).

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt 6 tablespoons butter. Add dark brown sugar and light corn syrup and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to simmer. Cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring, to dissolve and incorporate.

Carefully stir in heavy cream and bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3–4 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract, dark rum and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Taste and adjust salt or rum. Keep warm; reserve about 1/4–1/3 cup sauce to pour over puddings when serving.

In a small bowl, whisk the white miso into the sugar until evenly distributed. In a saucepan, combine whole milk, heavy cream and vanilla (if using a split vanilla bean, scrape seeds into the milk and add pod). Heat over medium until just steaming and beginning to simmer; do not boil.

While whisking constantly, temper the hot milk into the miso-sugar and egg yolk mixture: add a ladle of hot milk to the yolks to warm them, whisking continuously, then gradually whisk the warmed yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture.

Return saucepan to low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon (about 170–175°F / 77–80°C). Do not let it boil or the eggs will curdle. Remove from heat and stir in bourbon and 1/8 teaspoon salt.

Strain custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove any bits and the vanilla pod. Chill if making ahead; rewarm gently before serving or serve cool alongside warm pudding (both are traditional contrasts).

Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the 1/2 cup heavy cream in a small saucepan until steaming but not boiling. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit 1 minute to melt, then stir until smooth. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter, the optional corn syrup and 1/8 teaspoon salt until glossy. Keep warm or refrigerate and gently reheat before serving.

If using a whole 8-inch cake, cut into four portions. Place a warm pudding portion on each plate (if baked in ramekins, invert each onto a plate). Spoon 2–3 tablespoons of warm rum-toffee sauce over each pudding, allowing it to soak into the holes and surface. Drizzle chocolate sauce decoratively over or beside the pudding.

Add a generous 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup of the miso-bourbon custard alongside or lightly poured over the pudding (temperature contrast is traditional: warm pudding + warm sauce + cool custard or slightly warm custard). Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream. Garnish with a mint sprig if desired and serve immediately.