Christmas Sticky Toffee Pudding made with dates and brandy-soaked mixed dried fruit, and served with a lush toffee sauce, an indulgent Christmas dessert that is incredibly easy to make. A lot lighter than a traditional Christmas fruit pudding, this variation combines the best flavours from the 2 classic desserts.
Christmas pudding or plum pudding, or figgy pudding is a classic festive dessert in the UK, dating back to the Medieval times. In its actual form, it's a very rich and dense fruit pudding that is traditionally steamed. It's famous shape is so unmistakable, and it's hard not to associate Christmas with it.
Sticky Toffee Pudding is another classic dessert recipe, which is immensely popular throughout the year. But how about we combine these 2 heavenly desserts into one delicious pudding that makes the most of the two worlds: boozy dried fruit in a light sponge, and baked in a pudding basin to get the famous Christmas pudding shape.
And while it might sound like a time-consuming, too complicated dessert, that's actually far from the truth. The prep is minimal, and it's made with seasonal ingredients that are easily available at this time of the year.
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Ingredients used
- butter - either salted or unsalted, both work, it has to be soft at room temperature
- flour - I used self-raising flour as it makes the cake lighter
- eggs - make sure they are at room temperature, I used one large, but you can use 2 small ones too
- light brown sugar
- baking powder & bicarb of soda
- dates - I used medjool dates, but any other would do
- brandy-soaked mixed dried fruit - they don't need soaking, since they are soft already
- black treacle - or molasses
- mixed spice - for extra Christmassy flavours
Variations
I used dates and dried fruit to resemble more a traditional Christmas pudding, which relies heavily on dried fruit. You can use only dates as well, but I find that the dried fruit work really well here.
If you can't find ready-soaked brandy dried fruit, you can use 100 ml of brandy or rum to soak the fruit yourself. Just add them to a pan set over a low heat, and gently simmer for 10 minutes until the fruit soak up the liquid.
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- Add the pitted dates to a bowl, pour over 200 ml warm water, and leave them to soak for 10 minutes
- In a large bowl, add the soft butter and light brown sugar, and use a hand mixer to beat them together until creamy
- Add the egg and beat very well
- Sift in the flour, bicarb of soda, baking powder and mixed spice, and mix everything well
- Add the soaked dates together with their liquid and the dried fruit, and mix well to combine
- Butter and flour a 1litre pudding basin, and add the batter to it, making sure it doesn't come all the way to the top
- Bake it at 170 degrees Celsius (340 Fahrenheit) for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean
- Leave the pudding to cool down for 10 minutes, then use a sharp knife to loosen up the edges, then carefully take the pudding out of the basin and leave it to cool on a cooling rack
Toffee Sauce - ingredients, photos and instructions
- light brown sugar
- double cream - or heavy cream
- butter - it doesn't have to be at room temperature, since it will be melted anyway
- vanilla extract - for extra flavour
- black treacle
- Add the butter and sugar to a pan set over a medium heat
- Allow the butter to melt, then add the cream, treacle and vanilla extract
- Leave it to come to a boil, stirring occasionally, then take it off the heat
- Pour some over the pudding as it cools down, the rest will be poured over the pudding as it gets served
Expert tips
Baking this pudding in a special pudding basin is what makes it look so Christmassy. The batter is enough to fill a 1 litre pudding basin, if you have a smaller one, just fill it until there is about 2 cm left at the top, and if you still have batter left, add it to a smaller baking dish you have.
It is best not to overfill the basin, as the pudding needs room for raising too. Too much batter will also take a lot longer to bake, as the middle will still be raw.
If you are not fussed much about being in the shape of a Christmas pudding, you can use a regular rectangle baking tray, and follow the exact same steps. The pudding will bake quicker, so have a look at it after 30 minutes.
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Christmas Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients
For the pudding
- 100 g butter, soft
- 175 g light brown sugar
- 1 large egg (or 2 small eggs)
- 225 g self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- 100 g medjool dates
- 100 g brandy-soaked mixed dried fruit
- 1 tablespoon black treacle
For the toffee sauce
- 300 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- 100 g butter
- 1 tablespoon black treacle
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 125 g light brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (340 Fahrenheit).
- To make the pudding, add the dates to a small bowl and pour over 200 ml warm water - leave them to soak for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, add the butter and light brown sugar and use a hand mixer to beat them together until creamy.
- Add the egg and beat well.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarb of soda, plus mixed spice, and mix everything well.
- Add the mixed dried fruit and the dates chopped roughly together with their liquid, and mix again.
- Butter and flour a 1 litre pudding basin, add the mixture, and bake for 50 minutes to one hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Leave it to cool for 10 minutes, then use a sharp knife to run it around the edges of the basin to get the pudding out.
- Leave it to cool on a cooling rack.
- To make the sauce, add the butter and sugar to a pan set over a medium heat.
- Allow the butter to melt, then add the cream, vanilla extract and black treacle, and mix well.
- Leave it to come to a boil, then remove it from the heat.
- Pour some of the sauce over the pudding, the rest will be poured over the pudding as it's served.
Video
Notes
- I used dates and dried fruit to resemble more a traditional Christmas pudding, which relies heavily on dried fruit. You can use only dates as well, but I find that the dried fruit work really well here.
- If you can't find ready-soaked brandy dried fruit, you can use 100 ml of brandy or rum to soak the fruit yourself. Just add them to a pan set over a low heat, and gently simmer for 10 minutes until the fruit soak up the liquid.
- Baking this pudding in a special pudding basin is what makes it look so Christmassy. The batter is enough to fill a 1 litre pudding basin, if you have a smaller one, just fill it until there is about 2 cm left at the top, and if you still have batter left, add it to a smaller baking dish you have.
- It is best not to overfill the basin, as the pudding needs room for raising too. Too much batter will also take a lot longer to bake, as the middle will still be raw.
- If you are not fussed much about being in the shape of a Christmas pudding, you can use a regular rectangle baking tray, and follow the exact same steps. The pudding will bake quicker, so have a look at it after 30 minutes.
Nutrition
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Kelli says
We don't drink or cook with alcohol. Do you have any suggestions for non-alcohol substances to soak the fruit in instead of brandy? Thanks!
Daniela Apostol says
Orange juice usually works a treat, l used that often and it adds a festive touch too.