A Sticky (Toffee Pudding) Situation

A Sticky (Toffee Pudding) Situation

The ultimate comfort food for any Brit with his britches on straight, I find myself craving sticky toffee pudding any time my sweet tooth activates. A thick, moist medjool date sponge with an indulgent pour of toffee sauce and heavy cream will warm your body and soul. Clogged arteries have never been more worthwhile.

Baking sticky toffee pudding in August is incredibly cheeky as it is traditionally a winter delicacy. Shamelessly, I went for it. Typically, I use a trusted recipe from Tesco’s Finest. This recipe has worked marvelously for me in the UK; however, I have tried it twice in the US, and while the flavour has been fantastic, I have not achieved an ideal rise from the sponge. I put this down to using American flour (a hefty substance) with a British recipe that assumes you are using British flour (a lighter substance). So this time, I opened my mind once more to using an American recipe. Would I regret this decision? Only time would tell. I found a recipe from the kitchn by Alexis de Boschnek, an American who fell in love with sticky toffee pudding on a visit she made to London.

Contrary to Tesco’s recipe, Boschnek’s did not call for specifically medjool dates; rather, any date would do. As well, the sponge was more heavily spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, which I had no objection to. The ratio of sugar to flour was also slightly higher, but the most noticeable difference was that it did not call for any milk in the sponge. The Tesco recipe calls for 100 ml of milk, so I knew I would be dealing with a denser batter and potentially a “cakier” end product. Regardless, I wanted my pudding to rise, so I put my faith in America and proceeded. To add to the ambience, my two roommates were playing Five Nights at Freddy’s, a horror video game, and it was getting intense.

I started by making the crucial date puree. My local market did not have any medjool dates, so instead I used deglet nour dates, which I have never done before - this would truly be the test of whether any date would work. I finely chopped my dates and soaked them in boiling water for ten minutes to soften. Additionally, as a nod to Tesco, I steeped two bags of English breakfast tea in the puree. This is a subtle but worthwhile addition, not to mention a brilliant excuse to use tea in a bake. After soaking, I used my trusty food processor to blend the infusion into a puree. However, if you are not privileged with a Cuisinart food processor, an investment I recommend for anyone active in the kitchen, a masher or even some elbow grease with a fork are acceptable replacements, but not as efficient or versatile.

While the dates were soaking, I whisked the flour, spices, and baking powder together. I then added the brown sugar to my butter, which had been coming down to room temperature to soften. To the sugar and butter, I gradually mixed in the two eggs, vanilla extract, date puree, and finally the dry ingredients to form the batter. This was when I noticed the considerable visual difference the lack of milk made to the batter. Typically, I am used to a looser mixture, and this one was quite thick. Per the instructions, I buttered my 9x9-inch tin from my Nurti Chef stackable bakeware set (the best bang for your buck you will find), lathered the batter inside, and popped it into my 350-degree preheated oven.

While the pudding was undergoing its short 30-35 minute bake, I turned to the stovetop to make the quintessential toffee sauce. While Boschnek’s sauce used the same three core ingredients of butter, heavy cream, and brown sugar, there were some noticeable differences from the Tesco recipe. The first was the butter; the recipe called for almost twice the amount of butter for a similar amount of sugar and cream. Secondly, the sauce was to be cooked on medium-high heat as opposed to low heat. And thirdly, instead of combining all the ingredients at once, the butter is melted first before adding the cream and sugar. The combination of these variables found me with a sauce that did not taste bad, but seemed to take longer to thicken up and, due to the higher heat, cooked too quickly, never quite reaching the smooth toffee glossiness that is pertinent for a sticky toffee pudding. In my opinion, and I cannot believe I am saying this, there was too much butter.

At the thirty-minute mark, I removed the sponge from the oven. Boschneck calls to punch holes in the sponge with a fork for the toffee sauce to seep into before returning it to the oven. Perhaps this would compensate for the thicker batter. I poured half the sauce on top of the sponge and placed it back in the oven for a final five-minute hiatus.

Then, finally, the sticky toffee pudding was ready to eat. My roommates keenly paused their game, and we all gathered around to taste. I served generous portions using the remaining half of the toffee sauce as well as heavy whipping cream to finish the pudding.

Upon tasting it, it was not what I was expecting. It was a cake. A nice cake, but not a pudding. Perhaps an American take on sticky toffee pudding. We all agreed the sauce itself was not as smooth as it had been with the Tesco recipe. That being said, the end product was delicious nonetheless. Not what I would call a sticky toffee pudding, but rather a date cake with a toffee-esque topping. My roommate Jared was craving cake for a while, so it particularly satisfied his sweet tooth's yearning. I will also say using medjool dates makes a noticeable difference over other dates. They enhanced the sponge with a richer and fuller flavour than other dates. Deglet Nour dates do not have as strong a flavour profile.

It may not have been what I set out to accomplish, but Boschnek’s recipe was pleasant nonetheless. However, next time I make a sticky toffee pudding, I will return to the motherland.