Christmas Sticky Toffee Pudding

A slice of sticky toffee pudding on a white plate with more pudding in the background.

5 from 1 vote

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.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Total Time1 20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Servings: people

Calories: 642kcal

Author: Daniela Apostol

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.

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