Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe

Prepare dates

Place chopped dates in a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over dates and stir in baking soda. Let sit 10 minutes to soften, then mash lightly with a fork to break down large pieces; set aside to cool slightly.

Cream butter and sugars

In a medium bowl, beat softened butter with dark brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes with an electric mixer or 4–5 minutes by hand.

Incorporate eggs and vanilla

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract. Mixture may look slightly curdled — that's fine.

Combine dry ingredients

In a separate bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.

Fold and finish batter

Fold the flour mixture into the butter-egg mixture just until combined. Fold in the cooled mashed dates and any remaining soaking liquid. Do not overmix.

Bake

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 8-ounce ramekins or one small 9-inch baking dish with the reserved butter. Divide batter into prepared dishes. Bake in the center of the oven for 22–28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs (not wet batter). Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes.

While puddings bake, make the caramel: in a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and brown sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add heavy cream and simmer gently for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and sea salt. Keep warm. If sauce thickens too much, warm gently and whisk in a little extra cream or milk.

Prepare a bain-marie setup (a medium bowl set over a pot of simmering water). In the bowl, whisk egg yolks with granulated sugar until pale and slightly thickened (about 1–2 minutes). In a small saucepan, combine milk and heavy cream and heat until just steaming (do not boil).

Temper yolks by slowly streaming about 1/3 of the hot milk-cream into the yolks while whisking constantly, then pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk-cream. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the custard coats the back of the spoon and reaches about 170–175°F (77–80°C). Do not let boil or the eggs will scramble.

Remove from heat, strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl, stir in vanilla paste, whisky and a pinch of salt. Chill quickly in an ice bath if not serving immediately, or keep warm (but below 140°F) if serving immediately.

In a small nonstick skillet over medium heat, melt butter and add granulated sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves and begins to coat the butter. Add pecan halves and toss continuously until pecans are toasted and sugar has caramelized onto them, about 3–4 minutes. Immediately transfer pecans to a small sheet of parchment to cool and separate. Sprinkle with sea salt while warm.

Spoon a few tablespoons of warm buttery caramel sauce into the bottom of each ramekin or shallow serving dish. Invert each baked pudding onto the sauced plate (or, if serving in ramekins, spoon sauce over the top).

Add a scoop of french vanilla ice cream alongside each pudding. Drizzle additional caramel sauce over the pudding and ice cream.

Drizzle 1 tbsp chilled or warm whisky crème anglaise over each serving (or serve on the side). Top pudding with a small handful of candied pecans. Serve immediately while pudding and sauce are warm and ice cream is cold.