I updated the recipe after reader feedback to make the sponge taller, simplify the ingredients, and dial back the sweetness while keeping that classic sticky toffee texture. It's a great make-ahead dessert for Christmas or dinner parties.
For more cozy holiday desserts, try my vegan gingerbread loaf cake or browse my collection of vegan Christmas desserts.
If you're in the mood for something richer, try my vegan chocolate sticky toffee pudding, made with cocoa, espresso-soaked dates, and a warm chocolate toffee sauce.
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Why this recipe works
Moist without being heavy. The sponge is soft and tender with plenty of date flavor, rather than dense or stodgy.
Balanced sweetness. I revised the original recipe to make it less sweet, so the caramel-like dates and toffee sauce come through without the finished pudding becoming cloying.
Plenty of sticky toffee sauce. Most of the warm sauce soaks directly into the freshly baked sponge, with the rest saved for pouring over each serving.
Ideal for entertaining. It can be prepared ahead and reheats beautifully, making it especially useful for Christmas dinner or a dinner party.
Key ingredients
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Medjool dates: These are my first choice because they're naturally soft, juicy, and have a deep caramel-like flavor. Fresh, plump dates also break down into a smoother paste. If your dates are firmer or drier, give them a little longer to soak.
Vegan Greek-style yogurt: I use a thick Greek-style yogurt to help keep the sponge soft and moist. Vegan sour cream or a thick coconut yogurt can also be used.
Molasses or black treacle: This adds depth to the sponge and strengthens that dark caramel flavor. Use regular cane molasses or black treacle rather than blackstrap molasses, which is much more bitter. Maple syrup can also be used if needed.
Vegan butter: Use block-style vegan butter rather than a soft spread from a tub. The higher water content in spreadable margarine can affect the texture of both the sponge and the sauce.
Dairy-free cream: Coconut cream, oat cream, or soy cream all work for the toffee sauce. If you don't want any coconut flavor coming through, use oat or soy.
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How to Make Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding
Here are step-by-step images showing how to make this sticky date pudding recipe. Please refer to the detailed printable recipe card at the end of this page for full measurements and written instructions:
The texture of the date paste makes a difference here. Soak the dates until they're genuinely soft, then mash them directly into the soaking water rather than draining it. If your dates are quite firm, give them longer rather than trying to force them into a paste too early.
After adding the yogurt, molasses, and vanilla to the creamed butter, the mixture can look a little split. That's completely normal and it comes back together once the flour and buttermilk are added.
I add the dry ingredients and buttermilk in two additions and stop mixing while there are still a few visible streaks of flour. The date paste is folded in last, which finishes mixing the batter without having to keep beating it. This helps keep the sponge light and tender.
Don't judge doneness by color alone because the dates and molasses naturally make the pudding quite dark. A skewer inserted into the center should come out with sticky crumbs rather than obvious wet cake batter. Date paste can sometimes look like underbaked batter on the skewer, so check the texture rather than automatically giving it another ten minutes and risking a dry sponge.
For the sauce, you're only looking for it to slightly thicken during the short simmer. It gets thicker as it cools. Poke the pudding and pour around three-quarters of the sauce over while both are still warm so it can soak right into the sponge.
Christina's recipe tips
Use the right size baking dish. I use a 10½ x 7½-inch dish that's around 3 inches deep. The updated recipe bakes into a taller sponge, so a very shallow dish isn't ideal.
Bring the butter to room temperature. Give block butter around 30-60 minutes out of the fridge so it creams properly with the sugar.
Don't use blackstrap molasses. Its bitterness is much stronger than regular cane molasses or black treacle and can overpower the pudding.
Individual puddings work too. Divide the batter between well-greased muffin wells or ramekins and start checking them after around 20-25 minutes.
Serve it warm. Sticky toffee pudding is at its best once the sponge and reserved sauce have been gently reheated, with something cold or creamy alongside.
Make Ahead & Storage
This is a really useful dessert to prepare ahead for Christmas or entertaining.
Bake the pudding and pour over the first three-quarters of the toffee sauce as directed. Once completely cool, cover and refrigerate it, keeping the remaining sauce in a separate airtight container.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Before serving, gently reheat the pudding in the microwave or covered in the oven until warmed through. Reheat the remaining toffee sauce separately until pourable, then spoon it generously over each serving.
Serve warm with vegan vanilla ice cream or warm vegan custard.
More cozy vegan desserts
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ★★★★★ rating in the recipe card below and consider leaving a comment as well, thanks!
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Update Nov 2024: I have updated this recipe to be a tad less sweet based on reader feedback, with simplified ingredients and it now bakes up taller. If you loved the original version send me an email and I'll send it to you 😊
📖 Recipe
Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients
Cake
- 250 g (1 ⅔ cups) medjool dates pitted *see note 1
- 200 ml (¾ cup + 4 teaspoons) freshly boiled water
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon optional
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 batch (240 ml) vegan buttermilk
- 120 g (4.25 oz) vegan butter room temperature *see note 2
- 100 g (½ cup) light muscovado sugar *see note 3
- 120 g (½ cup) vegan Greek-style yogurt *see note 4
- 45 g (3 tablespoons) cane molasses or black treacle
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Sticky Toffee Sauce
- 200 g (7 oz) coconut cream soy or oat cream
- 150 g (¾ cup) light muscovado sugar *see note 3
- 50 g (3.5 tablespoons) vegan butter
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to fan-forced 160°C/320°F or conventional 180°C/356°F. Lightly grease a 10.5 x 7.5-inch (3-inch height) baking dish or similar with some oil.
- Date paste: Roughly chop the pitted dates and add them to a bowl with the boiling water. Leave them to soak for 20-30 minutes (the harder the dates, the longer they will need to soften). Using a fork, mash the dates into a paste until smooth.
- Mix dry ingredients: Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and sea salt to a bowl and whisk to combine, 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 whisk until light and fluffy.
- Add wet ingredients: Whisk in the vegan yogurt, molasses, and vanilla extract - Don't worry if it appears to be split at this stage"
- Make the batter: Add around half of the vegan buttermilk and half of the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Repeat with the other half of the buttermilk and dry ingredients and stop whisking while there are still a few visible streaks of flour. Do not over-mix the batter.
- Fold in date paste: With a spatula, carefully fold in the date paste until just combined.
- Bake: Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes. Meanwhile, make the caramel.
- Make the caramel: Add the cream, sugar, butter, and sea salt to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once simmering, bring the temperature down to medium and continue to simmer and stir using a rubber spatula for 2-3 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- To check the pudding is done, insert a skewer or toothpick into the center, it should come out with a few sticky crumbs on it.Once out of the oven, poke several holes in the cake using a skewer or fork. Pour around ¾ of the toffee sauce over the cake while warm and allow it to cool for 30 minutes.
- Serve: Just before serving, pour the remaining toffee sauce over the pudding.
Notes
- Medjool dates: If your dates are on the drier side or a different variety, they may need to soak for longer.
- 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.
- Light muscovado sugar: Swap for unrefined cane sugar or soft brown sugar.
- Vegan Greek-style yogurt: I use Alpro, you can sub with vegan sour cream or thick coconut yogurt.
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