Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake

Imagine a dessert that’s the sweet love child of sticky toffee pudding and cake – that’s what we’re diving into. Sticky toffee pudding is traditionally made with softened dates, but fear not, it won’t taste the least bit date-like, even if you’re not their biggest fan (I know I’m not). The real magic in this cake? The not-so-secret homemade toffee sauce – it’s so divine that you might just want to sip it like a beverage.

Ingredients:

For the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake:

• 230g pitted dates
• 1 cup of boiling water
• 1 tsp of bicarbonate soda
• 200g of soft dark brown sugar
• 100g of caster sugar
• 230g of butter
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 410g of plain flour
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

For the Toffee Sauce:

• 200g of soft dark brown sugar
• 160ml of double cream
• 160g of butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

For the Vanilla Buttercream:

• 300g of butter
• 600g of icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 1-2 tablespoons of milk

For the French Toast Bites:

• 1 large loaf of white bread (uncut)
• 1 egg
• 200ml of milk
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

Instructions:

Making the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake:

1. Pour 1 cup (240ml) of boiling water over the dates and bicarbonate of soda. Allow them to soak for 30 minutes, and then give the dates a quick pulse in a food processor or chopper.
2. Cream the butter, sugars, and vanilla extract together. Then, add the eggs, the soaked dates, followed by the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Mix until everything comes together. Line 3 x 6” cake tins and bake at 170°C for 25-30 minutes.

Creating the Toffee Sauce:

1. Place all the toffee sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Bring them to a boil, then let them simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Assembling the Cake:

1. Trim the tops off the cakes and pour 4-5 tablespoons of toffee sauce over each cake while they’re still warm. Let the sauce soak in as the cakes cool. Loosely cover them with cling film to keep them moist.
2. Don’t use up all the toffee sauce – reserve some for pouring over the top of the cake and for serving.
3. Once the cakes have cooled, wrap each of them completely in cling film to maintain their moisture until you’re ready to ice. The remaining toffee sauce will thicken as it cools, making it perfect for dripping down the sides of the cake.

Whipping Up the Vanilla Buttercream:

1. Cream the room-temperature butter using a stand mixer or electric hand beater.
2. Add the vanilla extract, and gradually incorporate the sifted icing sugar. Adjust the consistency with milk until it’s creamy and well combined.

French Toast Bites:

1. Slice a large white loaf of bread into rectangles and let them become slightly stale to ease the slicing into cubes.
2. Mix milk and eggs in a bowl, dunk the bread cubes, and fry each side until they’re crispy. Roll them in sugar and pile them on top of the cake.

Putting It All Together:

1. Ice the cake but don’t add icing around the sides, as it’s a “naked” cake. Smooth it with a cake scraper or spatula.
2. Drizzle some of the remaining toffee sauce over the top of the cake and let it cascade down the sides.
3. Serve each slice of cake with a drizzle of warmed toffee sauce. Enjoy the indulgence! 🍰😋