Recipe: Hawksmoor’s Sticky Toffee Pudding

23 January marks National Sticky Toffee Pudding Day – and to celebrate why not try to recreate Hawksmoor’s infamously delicious dessert at home? Expect lots of muscovado sugar, sticky dates, and a dash of Somerset cider brandy for a rich and sumptuous pudding that won’t fail to delight.

How To Cook The Perfect Valentine’s Meal

Recipe: Hawksmoor’s Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ingredients

• 125g chopped dates
• 3g bicarbonate of soda
• 190ml boiling water
• 55g unsalted butter
• 65g light muscovado sugar
• 65g dark muscovado sugar
• 1 egg
• 30ml Somerset Cider Brandy
• 225g self-raising flour
• 4g baking powder
• A pinch of Maldon sea salt
• Clotted cream to serve

For the toffee sauce:

• 95g dark muscovado sugar
• 30g light muscovado sugar
• 125g unsalted butter
• 125ml double cream
• A pinch of Maldon sea salt
• 30ml Somerset Cider Brandy

Method

1. To make these you will need four 85mm x 50mm aluminium pudding basins.
2. Preheat your oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3.
3. Put the chopped dates, bicarbonate of soda and water into a saucepan and boil for seven to eight minutes, stirring frequently until very dark. Take off the heat and set aside.
4. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a handheld electric whisk, cream together the butter and both muscovado sugars.
5. Mix in the egg, followed by the brandy, flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt.
6. Finally add the date mixture.
7. Thoroughly grease your pudding tins and pour the mix evenly into them. Cook in the oven for around 25 minutes, until risen and cooked through.
8. Remove from the oven and cool in the tins before turning out.
9. Meanwhile, make the toffee sauce. In a saucepan, gently heat together all the sauce ingredients apart from the brandy. Once the butter and sugar have melted, turn up the heat and simmer gently for five minutes.
10. Turn off the heat, add the brandy and leave to cool a little before serving.
11. Serve the pudding with the warm toffee sauce and a generous helping of clotted cream.

See more recipes in Hawksmoor: Restaurants and Recipes by Will Beckett and Huw Gott. 

MORE RECIPES

Ris A Lamande / Chocolate, Orange and Amaretto Mousse / Almond & Fig Muffins