A dark, treacly date sponge drenched in warm butterscotch toffee sauce, the most beloved British pudding made in a single mug in the microwave in eight minutes
About This Recipe
Sticky toffee pudding is one of the great British desserts and one of the most requested at restaurants across the English-speaking world. Its combination of a soft, dark, date-enriched sponge and a generous flooding of warm, buttery toffee sauce produces something that is simultaneously simple and luxurious. The microwave mug version delivers this experience in eight minutes for one person.
Dates are the ingredient that provides the deep sweetness and moisture of the sponge. Soaked in boiling water with bicarbonate of soda for just two minutes before being mashed and added to the batter, they soften enough to blend invisibly into the mixture and contribute their characteristic caramel sweetness. The bicarb softens them faster than water alone and also reacts with the natural acids in the dates to provide a tiny amount of additional leavening.
The toffee sauce is made directly in a second mug or small bowl while the sponge cooks. Butter, brown sugar, and double cream microwaved for sixty seconds and stirred together produces a sauce that is virtually identical to a stovetop version and that poured over the warm sponge produces the puddling effect that defines sticky toffee pudding at its best.
History and Origins
Sticky toffee pudding was created in the 1970s in the Lake District of England, most commonly credited to Francis Coulson of the Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel. It became a fixture of British restaurant and pub menus in the 1980s and 1990s and has spread internationally as one of the most universally appealing British desserts. The microwave single-serving version makes this iconic pudding accessible on any weeknight.
Why It Is Fast To Make
Microwave cooking. Dates softened in 2 minutes. Toffee sauce made in 60 seconds in a second mug. Total 8 minutes.
Microwave Sticky Toffee Pudding
Course: Cake1
servings4
minutes4
minutes680
kcalIngredients
•t3 dates pitted and roughly chopped
•t3 tbsp boiling water
•tPinch of bicarbonate of soda
•t2 tbsp unsalted butter softened
•t2 tbsp brown sugar
•t1 large egg
•t3 tbsp self-raising flour
•t0.5 tsp vanilla extract
•tFor sauce: 1 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp double cream
Directions
- Combine dates, boiling water and bicarbonate of soda in the mug. Leave for 2 minutes then mash.
- Add softened butter, sugar, egg, flour and vanilla to the mashed dates. Mix well.
- Microwave on high for 90 seconds to 2 minutes until just set.
- In a separate small mug combine sauce ingredients. Microwave for 45 seconds. Stir until smooth.
- Pour toffee sauce over the warm sponge. Eat immediately.
Notes
- Mash the dates thoroughly after soaking. Distinct date chunks produce uneven texture.
The toffee sauce will look separated before stirring. Stir vigorously until it emulsifies into a smooth sauce.
Eat immediately while the sauce is still warm and liquid. The sauce absorbs into the sponge as it cools.
A pinch of flaky salt in the toffee sauce produces a salted caramel version that is even better than the original.
Make Ahead Tips
Too fast and too perishable to make ahead. The toffee sauce firms as it cools and cannot be restored easily. Make fresh.
Storage and Serving
Eat immediately. This is a cook-and-eat dessert. The sponge absorbs the sauce within minutes and the two-texture experience is lost. Make fresh in under 10 minutes whenever you want it.
Variations and Substitutions
Add a teaspoon of ground ginger to the sponge batter for a ginger toffee version. Use golden syrup instead of brown sugar in the toffee sauce for a milder, less intense flavour. Add a tablespoon of rum to the toffee sauce for an adult version. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside the sauce.
