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Clean recipe · cooking.nytimes.com

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Simon Hopkinson is a first-rate pleaser, a chef who was never after recognition but one who wanted to produce terrific food his customers would love. He’s best known as the founding chef of Bibendum, the London restaurant started by Terence Conran in 1987 and recognized as one of the restaurants that marked the end of that city’s postwar cooking slump. His perfect (and not difficult) sticky toffee pudding is a dessert that according to Hopkinson first appeared on menus in Britain in the late 1960s but in fact has its origins in Canada. Whatever: it’s insanely delicious. And it will please you. Mark Bittman

Original recipe: cooking.nytimes.com

Yield:
6 servings
Total:
1 hr
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Ingredients

  1. 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
  2. 1 cup boiling water
  3. 3 tablespoons butter; cold, unsalted, cubed (plus more for greasing)
  4. 1 teaspoon baking soda
  5. ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  6. ⅓ cup plus 1 teaspoon Demerara sugar
  7. ⅓ cup plus 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
  8. 2 eggs
  9. ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
  10. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  11. 5 tablespoons butter
  12. 1 cup cream
  13. 6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  14. ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
  15. 3 tablespoons butter
  16. 1 ¼ cup cream, plus more for serving, if you like
  17. 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  18. ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

  1. Put the dates in a bowl and cover with the 1 cup boiling water to soften, at least 5 minutes. Heat the oven to 350 and grease a deep 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
  2. Combine the 3 tablespoons butter, baking soda, a pinch of salt, Demerara sugar, ⅓ cup plus 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar, eggs, flour and vanilla extract in a food processor and pulse until just combined. Add the dates and ½ cup of the water to the mixture; pulse until nearly smooth (specks of dates should remain visible).
  3. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes, until just firm to the touch. (When the pudding has finished baking, remove from the oven and heat the broiler. Put the rack about 4 inches from the heat source.)
  4. Meanwhile, make the topping. Melt 5 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, then slowly add 1 cup cream and 6 tablespoons dark brown sugar and ⅛ teaspoon salt, whisking continuously until the mixture bubbles gently and comes together to form a smooth mixture; turn off heat.
  5. In another small saucepan over medium heat, make the extra sauce. Melt 3 tablespoons butter, then slowly add 1 ¼ cups cream and 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Repeat the process above.
  6. Pour the topping (careful not to use the extra sauce) over the cooked pudding and place the whole thing in the broiler until it bubbles and looks sticky, 1 or 2 minutes (watch it closely). To serve, spoon into bowls and cover with the extra sauce. If you like, add a dollop of whipped cream.