No.90 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Made famous by Francis Coulson, Sharrow Bay

Photo: HarshLight, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel, Lake District, 1970s.

A date sponge drowned in toffee sauce, made famous at a Lake District hotel in the 1970s. Now Britain's best-loved pudding and on menus around the world.

Ingredients

• For the pudding: 1 cup (175 g) pitted dates, chopped
• 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 4 tbsp (55 g) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
• 3/4 cup (150 g) packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups (175 g) self-raising flour (or all-purpose flour plus 2 tsp baking powder)
• Pinch of salt
• For the toffee sauce: 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter
• 1 cup (200 g) packed dark brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) heavy cream
• Pinch of flaky salt

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 350F (180C). Butter an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking dish.
2. Put the dates in a bowl, pour over the boiling water and stir in the baking soda (it will foam). Leave 10 minutes.
3. Beat the butter and sugar until combined, then beat in the eggs one at a time and the vanilla.
4. Fold in the flour and salt, then stir in the dates and all their liquid. The batter will be very loose.
5. Pour into the dish and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until risen and springy and a tester comes out clean.
6. Meanwhile, make the sauce: put the butter, sugar and half the cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then let it bubble 3 to 4 minutes until it darkens a shade. Stir in the rest of the cream and the salt.
7. When the pudding comes out, poke holes all over it with a skewer and pour over a third of the sauce. Leave 5 minutes to soak in.
8. Cut into squares and serve warm with more sauce poured over, and cream or vanilla ice cream.

Chef's tips

• Make it a day ahead: it reheats beautifully, soaked in the sauce, in a 325F (160C) oven.
• Dark brown sugar (or muscovado) gives the deep toffee taste.

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