British Pudding · uk cuisine

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

Name: Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Cuisine: Uk
Ingredients: 200g pitted dates, chopped; 250ml boiling water, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 85g butter, 140g dark brown sugar, 2 eggs; 175g self-raising flour, 1 tsp vanilla, pinch salt; Sauce: 100g butter, 150g dark brown sugar, 200ml double cream, pinch salt

Dates, bicarb, dark sugar. Sauce goes on hot so the sponge drinks it.

By Hasnain Khan · Tested in a home kitchen · Updated 2026-08-10

⏱ 1 hr 👤 8 servings 🔥 Mild ⭐ 4.9 / 5

Recipe card

Prep20 min

Cook40 min

Total60 min

Yield8 servings

Rating4.9 / 5

Calories360

CuisineUk

CourseBritish Pudding

Jump to ingredients Jump to method Nutrition

Why this recipe works

Sticky toffee pudding converted me to British desserts on a rainy Lake District afternoon. The sponge is humble — dates, brown sugar, bicarbonate for lift — but the warm sauce turns it into something people request by name. I poke holes in the hot sponge and pour on a little sauce so it soaks, then serve with more sauce and cream or vanilla ice cream. It reheats beautifully, which makes it a dinner-party secret weapon.

Expert kitchen tips

Medjool dates make a richer sponge; standard baking dates still work when chopped fine.
A pinch of salt in the sauce stops it tasting flat-sweet.

Ingredients

200g pitted dates, chopped
250ml boiling water, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
85g butter, 140g dark brown sugar, 2 eggs
175g self-raising flour, 1 tsp vanilla, pinch salt
Sauce: 100g butter, 150g dark brown sugar, 200ml double cream, pinch salt

Step-by-step method

Heat oven to 180°C / 350°F. Grease a baking dish. Pour boiling water over dates, stir in bicarb, rest 10 minutes.
Cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs and vanilla. Fold in flour, then the date mixture.
Bake 35–40 minutes until springy and a skewer comes out clean.
Meanwhile simmer sauce ingredients until smooth and slightly thickened.
Poke sponge, pour over some sauce to soak. Serve warm with extra sauce and cream or ice cream.

💡 What I do in my kitchen: make the pudding a day ahead. Warm portions in the microwave or low oven and reheat sauce gently — it tastes even stickier.

Estimated nutrition

About 360 calories per serving (based on 8 servings). Values are estimates for home cooks and vary by brands, oil used, and portion size — not lab-analysed.

Serving ideas & leftovers

Serve hot, taste for seasoning at the table, and store leftovers in an airtight container once cool. Most of these dishes reheat gently on the stove with a splash of water, stock, or the dish’s own sauce so the texture stays kind.

This recipe is original CookMe editorial content for home cooks. Nutrition varies by brands and portions. If you have allergies, check every label. CookMe may display ads via partners such as Mediavine; see our Privacy Policy and Advertising Disclosure.