Nigella's sticky toffee pudding
My STP is altogether deeper and darker than the original version: it is still sweet, but the muscovado sugar and black treacle give it an almost savage intensity. It seems redolent of ginger, cloves, allspice 鈥 and yet none of these spices are used. It鈥檚 a miracle. I don鈥檛 understand it 鈥 but then, miracles are not to be questioned.
Equipment: You will need a 23x23cm/9x9in square baking dish.
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 200g/7oz soft dried pitted dates, roughly chopped
- 200ml/7fl oz water from a freshly boiled kettle
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 75g/2陆oz unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing
- 2 tbsp black treacle
- 50g/1戮oz dark muscovado sugar
- 2 large free-range eggs, at room temperature
- 150驳/5陆辞锄 plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
For the sauce
- 150驳/5陆辞锄 unsalted butter, softened
- 300g/10陆oz dark muscovado sugar
- 1 tbsp black treacle
- 200ml/7fl oz double cream, plus more to serve
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and lightly grease your dish.
Put the chopped dates, boiling water and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl, stir and then leave for 10 minutes.
Cream the butter and black treacle together in a stand mixer until well mixed, then add the sugar and mix again, beating out any lumps. Beat in an egg and keep beating 鈥 scraping down as necessary 鈥 until completely incorporated, then do the same with the other egg. Beating more gently, add the flour and baking powder until you have a smooth, thick batter.
Using a fork, stir the soaked dates, squishing them a bit, then pour the dates and their liquid into the batter and beat gently to mix in.
Pour and scrape into your prepared dish or cake tin and bake for 30鈥35 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Meanwhile, to make the sauce, melt the butter, muscovado sugar and treacle over a very low heat in a heavy-based saucepan. Once the butter鈥檚 melted, stir gently until everything else is melted too. Now stir in the cream, then turn up the heat and when it鈥檚 bubbling and hot, take it off the heat.
As soon as it鈥檚 out of the oven, prick the cooked sponge pudding all over with a cocktail stick and pour about a quarter of the warm sauce over, easing it to the edges with a spatula so that the sponge is entirely topped with a thick sticky glaze. Put a lid on the remaining sauce in the pan to keep it warm.
Leave the pudding to stand for 20鈥30 minutes, then take to the table, with the rest of the sauce in a jug, and cream to serve.
Recipe Tips
It shouldn鈥檛 be eaten piping hot, but warm; once the sponge has been topped with a glaze of the sauce, and had its 30 minute waiting time, it will be at optimum temperature. And cold 鈥 should you have any leftovers 鈥 a slab of it cut from the dish tastes like the most magnificent sticky gingerbread.
You will find it easier to measure out the black treacle if you run your spoon under a hot tap first.
