It's a chocolate twist on my vegan sticky toffee pudding, using many of the same techniques that keep the sponge soft and tender. Here, chocolate goes into every layer - the date paste, cake batter, and caramel sauce- while espresso deepens the flavor without making the pudding taste strongly of coffee
Serve it warm with vegan vanilla ice cream or vegan custard for an especially cozy dessert. It's also a great option for Christmas or entertaining because the pudding and sauce reheat well.
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Key Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make this recipe. Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Medjool dates: When baking, I usually prefer soft, juicy Medjool dates like for my date muffins and date cake recipes. In the case of sthicky date pudding, Medjool dates are easy to blend into a smooth paste and have a deep caramel-like flavor. If yours feel firm or dry, give them the full 30 minutes to soak.
Espresso: I soak the dates in freshly brewed espresso rather than plain water. It's a technique I often use in chocolate cake because coffee deepens the cocoa flavor without making the finished dessert taste obviously of coffee. Hot water works if you prefer.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder: This gives the pudding a darker color and a smoother, deeper chocolate flavor. Use Dutch cocoa rather than raw cacao powder.
Vegan Greek-style yogurt: A thick yogurt helps keep the sponge soft and moist. Vegan sour cream is a good alternative.
Molasses or black treacle: This reinforces the dark caramel flavor you expect from sticky toffee pudding. Use regular cane molasses or black treacle rather than blackstrap, which is much more bitter.
Dark chocolate: This turns the traditional toffee sauce into a rich chocolate-toffee sauce. Use a good quality dark chocolate you enjoy eating on its own, as its flavor comes through clearly.
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How to make it
Here's a visual overview of this recipe. Please refer to the detailed card at the end of this page for full written instructions.
The date paste is worth getting completely smooth. Once the dates have softened in the hot espresso, blend them with the cocoa until creamy. If you're mashing by hand instead, take a little extra time to work out any larger pieces of date and pockets of cocoa.
When the yogurt, molasses, and vanilla go into the creamed butter, the mixture can look slightly split. That's completely normal. Adding the vegan buttermilk and dry ingredients will gradually bring everything back together into an even batter.
The pudding is naturally very dark, so don't judge doneness by color. Check the center with a skewer instead. You're looking for a few moist, sticky crumbs but no obvious wet cake batter. Remember that pieces of date paste can also look very moist on the skewer, so don't automatically keep baking until it comes out completely clean.
For the chocolate toffee sauce, heat everything just until the chocolate and butter have melted and the mixture is completely smooth. There's no need to aggressively boil or reduce it, as the fat content in the chocolate will thicken the sauce. You want it fluid enough to soak into the sponge.
While the pudding is still warm, poke holes all over the surface and pour over around three-quarters of the sauce. Let it sit for about 30 minutes so the sauce can soak in, then warm the remaining sauce for serving.
Christina's recipe tips
Use softened block butter. Give it around 30-60 minutes at room temperature before mixing. Avoid spreadable tub-style butter, which contains more water.
Let firm dates soak for longer. Really soft dates can be ready in 20 minutes, while older or drier dates may need longer before they'll blend smoothly.
Use the right baking dish. I use a 10½ x 7½-inch dish around 3 inches deep. A significantly larger dish will give you a shallower pudding and change the baking time.
Reserve some sauce. Pouring every drop over the pudding sounds tempting, but keeping some back means you can serve each portion with plenty of warm chocolate toffee sauce.
Serve it warm. This is when the sponge is at its softest and the sauce is glossy and pourable.
Make Ahead & Storage
This pudding is a great one to prepare ahead for Christmas or a dinner party.
You can bake the pudding the day before, pour over the first three-quarters of the chocolate toffee sauce, and let it cool completely. Cover and refrigerate it, keeping the reserved sauce in a separate airtight container.
Before serving, gently reheat the pudding covered in the oven or warm individual portions in the microwave. Reheat the remaining sauce separately until smooth and pourable.
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Serve warm with vegan vanilla ice cream for a hot-and-cold contrast, or pour over warm vegan custard for a more classic pudding.
More Cozy Vegan Desserts
📖 Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients
Date Paste
- 225 g (1 ½ cups) medjool dates pitted *note 1
- 240 ml (1 cup) freshly brewed espresso or strong coffee *note 2
- 30 g (⅓ cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
Cake
- 220 g (1 ¾ cups plus 1 tablespoon) all-purpose flour
- 60 g (⅔ cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 120 g (4.25 oz) vegan butter room temperature *note 3
- 100 g (½ cup) soft brown sugar
- 120 g (½ cup) vegan Greek-style yogurt or vegan sour cream
- 45 g (3 tablespoons) cane molasses or black treacle
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 240 ml (1 batch / 1 cup) homemade vegan buttermilk
Chocolate Toffee Sauce
- 120 g (4.25 oz) dark chocolate
- 50 g (1.75 oz) vegan butter
- 200 ml (¾ cup + 4 teaspoons) plant-based milk
- 120 ml (½ cup) plant-based cream
- 125 g (½ cup + 2 tablespoons) soft brown sugar
- 20 g (3 tablespoons) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C) fan or 356°F (180°C) conventional. Lightly grease a 10½ x 7½-inch, 3-inch deep baking dish, or a similar-sized dish, with oil.
- Make the date paste: Roughly chop the pitted dates and add them to a bowl with the hot espresso. Leave to soak for 20-30 minutes, depending on how firm the dates are. Add the soaked dates, espresso, and cocoa powder to a blender and blend until smooth. Alternatively, mash everything together thoroughly with a fork to form a paste.
- Mix the dry ingredients: Add the flour, 60g cocoa powder, baking powder, and sea salt to a medium bowl and whisk until evenly combined. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar: Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the wet ingredients: Whisk in the vegan yogurt, molasses, and vanilla. Don't worry if the mixture looks slightly split at this stage.
- Make the batter: Add half of the vegan buttermilk and half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and whisk until mostly combined. Repeat with the remaining buttermilk and dry ingredients, stopping while a few streaks of flour are still visible. Avoid overmixing.
- Fold in the date paste: Using a spatula, gently fold the date paste into the batter until just combined.
- Bake: Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and smooth the top. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate toffee sauce.
- Make the chocolate toffee sauce: Add all of the sauce ingredients to a saucepan and heat over medium heat, whisking until melted, smooth, and evenly combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Finish the pudding: Check that the pudding is baked by inserting a skewer or toothpick into the center. It should come out with a few moist, sticky crumbs but no wet batter.
- While the pudding is still warm, poke holes all over the surface with a skewer or fork. Pour about ¾ of the chocolate toffee sauce evenly over the top and allow it to soak in as the pudding cools for about 30 minutes. Reserve the remaining sauce for serving.
Notes
- Medjool dates: If your dates are on the drier side or a different variety, they may need to soak for longer.
- Espresso: Swap for hot water if preferred.
- Vegan butter: Take this out of the fridge to sit at room temperature for 30 mins to 1 hour. Use vegan block butter NOT spreadable butter from a tub.
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Hi dear Christina, can I substitute dates?