STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING CAKE is the ultimate holiday dessert! This toffee pudding poke cake is the perfect dessert recipe for spoiling your family this Christmas. Top it off with whipped cream or ice cream for an extra special treat!
Easy Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe
Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake is one amazing holiday dessert. This delicious pudding poke cake is topped with the most delicious toffee sauce. It’s sure to please everyone who tries it!
Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake is the absolute ultimate Christmas dessert! I’m blessed to have an amazing cook as a mother, and this is one of her creations! Mom and Dad lived in London when my dad taught overseas for a semester, and she came back making this delicious new dessert called Sticky Toffee Pudding.
She made it for Christmas a couple years ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. Fast forward to this year, when she came over with an updated and easier version, Sticky Toffee Pudding Poke Cake! This ooey gooey dessert is loaded with flavor and even has a brûlée top. It’s beautiful, it’s delicious, and it’s oh so addicting. This is the perfect holiday cake to serve on Christmas. Once you’ve tasted it you’ll be making it again year after year.
Easy Toffee Sauce
The Sticky Toffee Pudding Poke Cake is so good, but this toffee sauce is what really brings it all together! It’s seriously amazing–I taste it in my DREAMS I tell you! It’s made with butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, rum, and lemon juice. It all blends together so perfectly to make a tasty toffee sauce. Pour it over the cake after it’s baked, and let it fall into the poke holes to really fill it with flavor. Yum!
To make the Toffee Sauce:
- Melt butter in a saucepan, then mix in brown sugar. Whisk until sugar has dissolved.
- Remove from heat, and whisk in cream and rum.
- Place it back over low heat and cook until it becomes frothy.
- Remove sauce from heat and stir in the lemon juice.
- Set the toffee sauce aside until the cake is ready.
While we were making this cake we thought…why don’t we add some sugar and light in on fire, aka brûlée the top? We just loved the way it turned out. It’s optional, but isn’t that so fun?! It adds just a touch of crispy layer to the top of the cake. It gives it an extra special flair that’s perfect for holidays or special occasions.
How to Make Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake
This Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake is such a fun treat. It’s made with dates, which is what gives it that “sticky” sweet flavor. It is essentially Sticky Toffee Pudding in poke cake form and I can’t get enough of it!
Once the cake is baked, immediately poke small holes into it (that’s what makes it a poke cake), and pour the toffee sauce all over so that it seeps in. Let the cake cool, and then you can serve it with more sauce on top.
This Sticky Toffee Pudding Poke Cake is great topped with simple whipped cream, but I especially love it when served warm and loaded with vanilla ice cream. Sure, you can cut pieces and eat it in a civilized manner, but I prefer to just pass out spoons and all dig in. Talk about a sweet treat!
If you have leftovers, or if you decide to make it ahead of time, you can easily save it for later. Just cover it with plastic wrap and it will keep for 3 days. See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Sticky Toffee Pudding Poke Cake will forever make me think of Christmas, but it’s a dessert I know we will enjoy year round. Basically give me a reason to celebrate and I’ll make this dessert. Can you blame me?
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out these other easy cake recipes:
- Easy Peanut Butter Banana Bundt Cake
- Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
- BEST Banana Cake Recipe
- Oreo Poke Cake
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Pound Cake
- Raspberry Moscow Mule Cake
- Berry Coffee Cake
Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake
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Ingredients
For the Toffee Pudding (Cake)
- 1¼ cups chopped pitted dates 186 grams, divided
- ¾ cup warm water 170 grams (100-110°F)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda 3 grams
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour 150 grams
- ½ teaspoon baking powder 2 grams
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar 160 grams
- 2 large eggs 100 grams
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract 6 grams
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 57 grams, melted (½ stick)
For the Toffee Sauce
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter 113 grams (1 stick)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar 213 grams
- ⅔ cup heavy cream 151 grams
- 1 tablespoon rum 14 grams
- ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice 3 grams
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream 473 grams, for serving
Recommended Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
- 8x8-inch Baking Pan (optional)
- 8-inch Round Cake Pan (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and adjust oven rack to middle position. Grease and flour an 8x8-inch square or round baking pan. Line a large, deep oven pan with a clean dishtowel then place the baking dish on top of the towel.
- Bring a large, covered saucepan of water to boil while preparing the cake batter.
- Place half the dates in a medium bowl and cover with ¾ cup warm water. Add baking soda, stir, cover the dates and soak them for 5 minutes. Drain dates over another bowl (to reserve the water).1¼ cups chopped pitted dates, ¾ cup warm water, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.1¼ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Using a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process the dates and brown sugar until just blended (10 1-second pulses). Add reserved soaking liquid, eggs, and vanilla and process 5 seconds or until smooth. While the food processor is running, pour the melted butter in and process for 3 seconds. Transfer this mixture to the softened dates.¾ cup dark brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Add the dry ingredients to wet and mix just until mixtures blend.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and very carefully pour the boiling water halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Do not get any of the boiling water in the batter. Cover the large pan, which includes the baking dish, tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake 40-45 minutes or until the outer 2 inches of the cake develops small holes and the center is firm to the touch.
- While cake is baking, make the toffee sauce and keep it warm until cake is baked.
- In a medium saucepan over low-medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in brown sugar and whisk until butter and brown sugar fully incorporated. Cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture looks puffy and sugar is dissolved, about 3-4 minutes.8 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 cup dark brown sugar
- Remove from heat and slowly, while quickly whisking, add cream and rum. Continue to whisk until mixture comes together.⅔ cup heavy cream, 1 tablespoon rum
- Place pan on stovetop, over low heat, and simmer until frothy, about 3 minutes. Whisk occasionally.
- Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Cover pan with paper towel and with the lid (be sure heat is off). Set sauce aside until ready to use.½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- Once the cake has baked, immediately (and very carefully) remove the baking dish from the water bath and set on wire rack. Poke several small holes through the top of the cake. Pour all except ⅓ cup warm sauce evenly over the toffee pudding.
- Cool for 10 minutes, cut, and serve with ice cream and drizzle with extra sauce.1 pint vanilla ice cream
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- The cake can be covered and served later. Reheat the cake in a 350°F oven for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information
Just saw this recipe and would love to make it. Could you use raisins instead of dates?
Sure can!
LOVELY RECIPES! just love the way you do it!
Any advice on if i could SUBSTITUTE with gluten free flour?
If you use a 1:1 gluten free baking flour (Bob’s Red Mill makes one) it should work great!
Awesome! Thank you and merry christmas!
You too!
How is the heart on top of the dessert made?
Yay! We lived in Scotland for a year and this was my fav dessert! Can’t wait to try it!
This isn’t just delicious, it makes me drool!