I fell in love with Nigella’s Sticky Toffee Pudding, but not everything went according to plan while following the recipe instructions. Read our review with a few useful tips on how to rock this delicious dessert in your kitchen successfully.
There are no other countries famous for puddings like Great Britain. The term ‘pudding’ was mainly used to describe savoury (meat) dishes in the past. Nowadays it’s better known in connection with traditional English sweet desserts like Bread and Butter Pudding, Christmas Pudding, Spotted Dick or Sticky Toffee Pudding.
It was Sticky Toffee Pudding that recently caught my attention. This pud's been often mentioned as one of the best British desserts (if not the best one), so I wanted to know what makes it so special.
I actually tested Mary Berry’s recipe first. You can read about my experience and some useful tips in our post ‘Mary Berry Sticky Toffee Pudding / Tried & Tested’.
This time I decided to try Nigella's Sticky Toffee Pudding. The recipe comes from her cookbook ‘At My Table’, but it is also available online either from her website Nigella.com or BBC Food. And while Mary Berry’s pudding was an easy simple dessert to make, I expected more extravagance from Nigella.
Did the recipe withstood our test and met our expectations? Read below to see what we think.
- Ingredients for Nigella's Sticky Toffee Pudding
- How to substitute the main ingredients
- Equipment
- Baking tin
- Yield/Portions
- Scaling the sticky toffee sponge mix
- Timing and temperatures
- Step by step methods for Nigella's Sticky Toffee Pudding
- Nutritional Values
- How to store Sticky toffee pudding
- The verdict on Nigella's Sticky Toffee Pudding
- The recipe card
Ingredients for Nigella's Sticky Toffee Pudding
I always like to start with a quick overview of the recipe ingredients:
For the sponge
- dried pitted dates
- freshly boiled water
- bicarbonate of soda
- unsalted butter
- black treacle
- dark muscovado sugar
- free-range eggs
- plain flour
- baking powder
For the sauce
- unsalted butter
- dark muscovado sugar
- black treacle
- double cream
Notes: The measurement units on Nigella’s website or the BBC Food site are given in both - the metric system and the imperial one. This way, you can make the recipe using whatever system you are familiar with.
How to substitute the main ingredients
Looking at the ingredients list, dark muscovado sugar, dry dates and black treacle are the main factors behind the dessert's extra rich taste, full of decadent caramel/toffee sweetness and Christmas flavours (interestingly without any of the spices!).
Of course, it’s always good to use the ingredients recommended in the recipe for the best possible outcome. As much as that is true if for whatever reason you are looking for a way to replace them, I have a few suggestions for you.
Dark Brown Muscovado Sugar is unrefined (or partly refined) sugar with a naturally high molasses content. That’s where the sugar gets its dark colour and moisture content.
Substitution ➤ It is possible to use dark brown SOFT sugar instead. It is available in most of the bigger UK supermarkets. After running a few tests, I can confirm that dark brown soft sugar works great for both the sponge and the sauce.
Dry dates have a high amount of sugar, and when chopped and soaked in hot water with bicarbonate of soda, they soften so they are easily mashable with a fork. They add sweetness, stickiness and a chewy bite to the sponge.
Substitution ➤ If you don’t have dates, try raisins instead. Chop them small; they won’t mash the same way like the dates, but if you like dry fruit in cakes you will find this a suitable option. With a blender, you could even turn them into a raisin puree if you wish.
Tip: For anyone who prefers a cake without dates or dry fruit, I recommend to try Mary Berry Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Black treacle can be found in the baking section of most supermarkets in the UK. As its name suggests, it's a dark, sticky, thick paste with a slightly bitter-sweet taste.
Substitution ➤ I’m certain it is possible to substitute black treacle with molasses as I found several non-UK sticky toffee pudding recipes using molasses. However, I can’t give any specific recommendations as I haven’t tested it by myself.
Equipment
➤ The recipe only asks for one piece of equipment - 23x23 cm (9x9 in) square baking dish.
Except for a baking tin, you will need a few other things to be able to make this dessert. While most of them are pretty common and don't need to be mentioned beforehand like a bowl or spatula I believe at least two more would be useful to acknowledge:
- Electric mixer or stand mixer
- Saucepan
Other equipment I used:
- Measuring spoons
- Parchment paper
- Mixing bowl
- Smaller bowl for soaking dates
- Spatula and a fork
- Testing skewer
Baking tin
➤ The recommended size of the baking tin is 23x23 cm (9x9 in).
I have a few different cake tins and ovenproof dishes, but it is Murphy's law that the size never matches the recommendation.
To find the best dish I calculate the bottom area of the recommended tin and pick the closest match from what I have at home.
Tip: This area calculator comes in handy.
The bottom area of Nigella’s 23 x 23 cm square tin is 529 cm2. The most suitable tin I had was a 24 cm round cake tin. The size of the round area at the bottom of the tin is 452 cm2. As you can see, it was slightly smaller, but I found it to be perfect. The mix had plenty of space to rise. Once baked, the sponge was around 3 cm tall.
Yield/Portions
➤ According to the recipe, the dessert makes 9 portions.
I agree with the number of portions. It’s pretty easy to divide the cake into nine even slabs when baked in a square or rectangular tin.
My cake was round, so I cut the portions by eye (some thinner than others). In the end, it made 10 servings.
Scaling the sticky toffee sponge mix
Scaling the recipe is useful if you wish to make the dessert either smaller or bigger. Our table should help you to adjust Nigella’s sticky toffee pudding without too much of a headache.
half batch / view more
Serves 4 - 5 / Loaf 2 lb tin
This loaf tin is perfect for the reduced recipe.
Sponge
- 100 g dried pitted dates
- 100 ml freshly boiled water
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 38 g unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon black treacle
- 25 g dark muscovado sugar
- 1 free-range egg
- 75 g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Sauce
- 75 g unsalted butter
- 150 g dark muscovado sugar
- ½ tablespoon black treacle
- 100 ml double cream
Extra Large / view more
Serves 20 - 24 | Large traybake 36 x 26
This tin is perfect for the increased recipe.
Sponge
- 300 g dried pitted dates
- 300 ml freshly boiled water
- 2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 3.5 tablespoon black treacle
- 100 g dark muscovado sugar
- 4 free-range eggs
- 300 g plain flour
- 3.5 teaspoon baking powder
Sauce
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 500 g dark muscovado sugar
- 2 tablespoon black treacle
- 335 ml double cream
I prefer to keep the eggs whole rather than using ½ or any other fraction of an egg. Therefore I recommend either halving Nigella’s recipe (that means using only 1 egg) to make the cake smaller or doubling the number of eggs (using 4 eggs in total). That should make a nice traybake to feed an army.
Timing and temperatures
The Sponge ➤ The recipe recommends preheating the oven to 180C; oven with fan on 160C; and Gas on 4. The cake should take 30 - 35 minutes to bake.
I found the temperatures and timings accurate. I usually bake with a fan assisted oven; so I set mine to 160 C. My cake was baked in 35 minutes.
The Sauce ➤ The instructions give guidance to use a low temperature for melting the butter and sugar, then adding the cream and turning the temperature up to bring the sauce to a boil afterwards.
I followed the guidance and the sauce turned out excellent.
Step by step methods for Nigella's Sticky Toffee Pudding
Step 1
Pour boiling water over the chopped dates and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Soak for 10 minutes.
Notes: I like to chop the dates into smaller pieces. It’s easier to mash them with a fork, and they become less noticeable in the sponge.
Step 2
Beat the butter and black treacle until properly incorporated.
Add sugar to the mix and beat again. Once the mix is smooth beat in the eggs one at a time.
Reduce the speed of the mixer and incorporate in the flour and baking powder.
Mash the dates with a fork and fold them gently into the mix.
Notes: All the 'beating stages made the whole process more complicated, and I found that the mixture tends to curdle in between the steps.
It actually curdled twice - first when I added the eggs (Pic 1). This got better once I mixed in the flour (Pic 2), but then it curdled again after adding the dates (Pic 3).
I baked the cake anyway, and it turns out ok, but I felt like the recipe let me down a bit. I wondered if all the beating was necessary and how I could improve the curdling.
Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3
Tip: I found an easy solution inspired by Mary Berry's all in one method. Simply put all the ingredients, including the dates, into a bowl and beat the mix with an electric whisk for just under one minute. It couldn't be more straight forward! I swear it works like a dream.
Pic 4 Pic 5
Step 3
Pour the mix into the tin, level the surface and bake in a preheated oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 for 30 - 35 minutes.
Step 4
To make the sauce, melt the butter, sugar and treacle in a pan over the low heat.
After the butter melts and sugar dissolves, stir in the cream. Turn the temperature up and once the sauce starts bubbling take it off the heat.
Notes: I wondered if adding the cream with all other ingredients at the beginning would work and speed the process up.
Tip: I can confirm that you can heat all the ingredients together, including the cream, from the beginning.
I ended up with the same looking and tasting sauce, and as a bonus, I safe myself a little bit of time.
Step 5
As soon as the sponge is out of the oven, prick it all over with a skewer creating small holes.
Pour around a quarter of the sauce over the sponge.
Notes: Because of the dark colour of the sponge, it can be tricky to judge when it is done.
Tip: I learnt to check for 3 signs that tell me when the cake is baked.
-
- The sponge has to be springy. When you gently push the sponge with your finger, it springs back.
- If you insert a skewer into the middle of the sponge it should come out completely clean.
- The cake shrinks slightly from the edges of the tin.
Step 6
Let the cake cool down for 30 minutes before serving.
Top up each serving with more sticky toffee sauce. Reheat the sauce if you need to.
Notes: Reheating the sauce is easy and can be done on the hob or carefully in the microwave. Because the sauce gets hot quickly in the microwave, it’s better to heat it in short intervals and check in between.
Tip: The recipe makes a good amount of the toffee sauce; more than we needed. We kept the sauce in the fridge and reheated it when we wanted to use it. Oh my gosh… it tasted amazing poured over our Gluten-free Griddled Waffles with Nutella topping.
Nutritional Values
Nigella's recipe doesn’t include nutritional values on either her website nor the BBC Food side.
My nutritional calculator shows that each portion of this cake, including the toffee sauce, contains 589 calories. Here is the full nutritional list per serving:
How to store Sticky toffee pudding
Keep the sponge and the sauce in separate airtight containers. You have a few options on how to store them:
| Room temperature (up to 2 days) | Fridge (up to 5 days) | Freezer (up to 3 months) | |
| The sponge | ✓ (without the topping) | ✓ | ✓ (without the topping) |
| The sauce | - | ✓ | - |
The sponge lasts in the freezer for longer than 3 months, but it will lose some of its best qualities. It can dry out or absorb some of the other food smell too.
Personally, I don't freeze the sauce. It doesn't take more than 10 minutes to make, and the fresh sauce will always taste better.
You will find out that the sauce thickens once it cools down but reheating it is easy and can be done on the hob or carefully in the microwave. Because the sauce gets hot quickly in the microwave, it’s better to heat it in short intervals and check in between.
The verdict on Nigella's Sticky Toffee Pudding
This sticky toffee pudding is a supreme treat by all means. While it's not in a category of eye-catching desserts, it blew us away with its taste.
It was especially my husband and the elder son that couldn't resist this pudding, and they loved the dates in the sponge.
In my opinion, it’s the particularly rich sweet sauce that makes this pudding so special. It adds that wow factor and makes the dessert taste like heaven.
➤ This dessert deserves full 10/10 for its taste. However, I was less impressed with the recipe instructions (as I explained in the Step by step section) that's why I rate the methods only 6/10.
And here you have it. Now it’s up to you to have a go and tell me what you think. Happy baking everyone.
The recipe card
Nigella Lawson Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 200 g soft dried pitted dates roughly chopped
- 200 ml boiling water
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 75 g unsalted butter softened
- 2 tablespoon black treacle
- 50 g dark muscovado sugar
- 2 large free-range eggs at room temperature
- 150 g plain flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
For the sauce
- 150 g unsalted butter softened
- 300 g dark muscovado sugar
- 1 tablespoon black treacle
- 200 ml double cream
Equipment
- 23x23 cm square baking dish/24 cm round cake tin
- Electric mixer or stand mixer
- Saucepan
- Measuring spoons
- Parchment paper
- mixing bowl
- Smaller bowl for soaking dates
- Spatula and a fork
- Testing skewer
Instructions
Sponge
- Pour boiling water over the chopped dates and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Soak for 10 minutes.
- Beat the butter and black treacle until properly incorporated.Add sugar to the mix and beat again. Once the mix is smooth, beat in the eggs one at a time.Reduce the speed of the mixer and incorporate in the flour and baking powder.
- Mash the dates with a fork and fold them gently into the mix.
- Pour the mix into the tin, level the surface and bake in a preheated oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 for 30 – 35 minutes.
Sauce
- To make the sauce, melt the butter, sugar and treacle in a pan over the low heat.
- After the butter melts and sugar dissolves, stir in the cream. Turn the temperature up, and once the sauce starts bubbling, take it off the heat.
Decorating
- As soon as the sponge is out of the oven, prick it all over with a skewer creating small holes. Pour around a quarter of the sauce over the sponge.
- Let the cake cool down for 30 minutes before serving. Top up each serving with more sticky toffee sauce. Reheat the sauce if you need to.
Katie Kleinberg says
I made this for Xmas eve dinner and it was a HUGE hit. I couldn’t find double cream, so I used heavy cream with 40% milk fat. Finding Black Treacle is essential. The cake is amazing- the sauce even more so. I used the method of dumping everything together at once and it came out perfect and made it so easy. This is a dessert that tastes complicated, but is so easy to make.