Vegan sticky toffee pudding with moist date sponge cake and buttery toffee sauce. A delicious spin on a classic British pudding! Serve with a scoop of non-dairy vanilla ice cream, or a dollop of vegan custard or cream.
Prepare: 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). Add the soy milk and apple cider vinegar to a small bowl or jug, stir and allow to sit for 5 minutes. This is vegan buttermilk.Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F). Lightly grease a 7x9" rectangular pan with some oil or vegan butter.Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt to a bowl and whisk to combine, set aside.
Make the date paste: Once the dates have softened, use the back of a fork to mash them into a smooth paste (do not drain off the water). Stir in the vanilla bean paste and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar: Add the butter, light muscovado, and dark muscovado sugar to a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until light and fluffy, for about 3 minutes.
Make the batter: Add the vegan yogurt to the creamed butter in 3 increments, whisking between each one to incorporate. Whisk in the molasses.Alternate between adding the buttermilk and dry ingredients to the batter in 3 increments. Whisk to combine between each one, but be careful not to overmix the batter.Use a spatula to fold the date paste into the batter, again be careful not to overmix.
Bake: Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Meanwhile, make the caramel.
Make the caramel: Add the sugar, butter, molasses, cream, 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, pierce several holes in the cake using a fork. Pour half of the toffee sauce over the cake while still hot and allow it to cool for 30 minutes
Serve: Just before serving, pour the remaining toffee sauce over the pudding. Carefully slice into portions and serve warm with a scoop of non-dairy ice cream, custard, or whipped cream.
Storage: Once cool, wrap any leftover pudding with plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Store the pudding and toffee sauce separately.Let the cake sit out at room temperature for an hour or two before serving and warm up the remaining toffee sauce before pouring it over. You can also reheat it in the oven or microwave until warm.
Notes
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. I use flora plant butter or Violife Block.
Some sugar in the US is not vegan, if in doubt use organic sugar.
Store fresh dates in the fridge to keep them juicy and plump.
For a variation, Swap out half the dates for juicy raisins or sultanas and add half a teaspoon of cinnamon or ginger to the batter.