Why This Pudding Never Goes Out of Fashion

There are few things more reassuring on a wet Tuesday in November than a bowl of sticky toffee pudding. It is one of those rare British puddings that manages to feel both deeply old-fashioned and entirely at home on a modern table. The sponge is dark, damp and date-heavy; the sauce is glossy, warm and generously salted; and the whole thing takes barely more than half an hour from cupboard to table.

The secret, as with most traditional baking, is in the small details. Let the dates soften properly, do not overwork the flour, and serve the sauce hot enough that it soaks into the crumb rather than sitting on top. Get those right and you will produce something that tastes as though it came out of a country house kitchen rather than a suburban oven.

The Pudding: Ingredients and Method

You will need a 20cm square tin or a 1.5-litre ovenproof dish, well buttered. This quantity serves six comfortably, or four very generously.

• 200g stoned dates, roughly chopped
• 250ml boiling water
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 85g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g dark muscovado sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 175g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• A good pinch of fine sea salt

Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Put the chopped dates in a heatproof bowl, pour over the boiling water and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. It will fizz enthusiastically, which is exactly what you want. Leave to stand for ten minutes until the dates are soft and the liquid has cooled slightly.

Meanwhile, cream the butter and muscovado sugar until pale and fluffy — a good four minutes with an electric whisk, longer by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each, then the vanilla and salt. Fold in the flour with a large metal spoon, then pour in the date mixture, liquid and all. The batter will look alarmingly loose. That is the point; it is what makes the finished pudding so moist.

Scrape into the prepared tin and bake for 28–32 minutes, until the top springs back when pressed lightly and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Do not be tempted to open the oven early, as a sudden drop in temperature will give you a sunken middle.

An Easy Toffee Sauce

Many recipes ask you to boil sugar to a specific temperature. This one does not, and it is every bit as good.

• 115g unsalted butter
• 115g light muscovado sugar
• 150ml double cream
• A generous pinch of sea salt

Melt the butter, sugar and cream together in a small heavy-based pan over a low heat, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved. Bring to a gentle simmer and let it bubble for three to four minutes, stirring now and then, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Take it off the heat and stir in the salt. If it looks a little thin, it will thicken further as it cools and as it sits on the warm pudding.

Make the sauce while the pudding bakes, or reheat it gently later. It keeps in the fridge for up to a week and reheats beautifully in a pan with a splash of cream.

Timing, Make-Ahead and Freezing

This is one of the most useful puddings in a cook's repertoire because almost all of it can be done in advance. The sponge can be baked a day ahead, cooled and kept tightly wrapped at room temperature. To serve, warm it through, covered with foil, at 160°C for about fifteen minutes.

The baked, cooled sponge also freezes well for up to three months. Wrap it in baking parchment and then foil, defrost overnight in the fridge, and reheat as above. The sauce freezes too, though it is so quick to make that most cooks simply whisk up a fresh batch.

If you want to cook individual puddings, divide the batter between eight buttered dariole moulds or ramekins and bake for 18–20 minutes.

Serving It Properly

Cut the pudding into generous squares while still warm and place in shallow bowls. Pour over the hot sauce so that it pools around the base and seeps into the sponge. A spoonful of clotted cream is traditional in the West Country; vanilla ice cream gives a pleasing contrast of hot and cold; and thick custard, made properly with eggs and vanilla, is the choice of many a Yorkshire table.

A few toasted pecans or a scattering of flaky salt on top adds texture and stops the whole thing tipping into over-sweetness.

Common Pitfalls and Small Variations

• Skipping the bicarbonate: it is not there for lift alone; it tenderises the dates and gives the crumb its characteristic softness.
• Using chopped dates tossed in flour: unnecessary here, since the dates are puréed into the batter by the soaking liquid.
• Overbaking: the pudding should be moist, almost fudgy in the middle. Check at 28 minutes.
• A thin, grainy sauce: usually caused by simmering before the sugar has fully dissolved. Be patient at the melting stage.

For a change, add a teaspoon of ground ginger to the flour, or replace 50ml of the boiling water with dark rum. A handful of chopped walnuts stirred through the batter works well, as does a spoonful of black treacle in place of some of the muscovado. Whatever you do, serve it warm, with plenty of sauce, and do not apologise for the second helping.