Vegan sticky toffee pudding - this vegan version of the classic British dessert is rich and sticky with a deep flavour. It is incredibly easy to make too! It is perfect served as a cold weather pudding, with custard or ice cream. Eggless and dairy free.
Sticky toffee pudding has to be one of the ultimate comforting winter desserts. There is nothing more satisfying on a cold day than tucking in to a slab of soft pudding drenched in sticky toffee sauce and custard (or ice cream if you are that way inclined).
This vegan version is easy to make and tastes just as good as the original. A soft, deep caramel flavoured date sponge cake generously smothered with luscious toffee sauce; heaven!
I adapted and veganised Nigella's recipe, which she describes as "altogether deeper and darker than the original version". This is still a sweet pudding, but the dark muscovado sugar and treacle give it more depth of flavour, and make it less cloyingly sweet than some versions.
What Do I Need To Make Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding:
My recipe doesn't use any weird egg replacers or ingredients that you wouldn't usually find in a sticky toffee pudding, it is mostly just basic storecupboard ingredients.
For The Pudding:
Dates: chopped dates soaked in boiling water and then blended form the base of the pudding, adding sweetness and caramel flavour and keeping the texture moist and soft. There is no need to use fancy dates such as medjool, just regular dried dates work best.
Treacle: dark, sticky treacle adds intense flavour. You can use molasses if you can't get hold of treacle, and if you prefer a lighter pudding you can use golden syrup instead.
Dark muscovado or dark brown soft sugar: muscovado sugar is best for it's deep toffee flavour though dark brown soft will work just as well. Light brown will work in a pinch but dark is best.
Oil: any neutral flavoured oil will do; I use sunflower.
Milk: you can use any kind of unsweetened non-dairy milk you prefer but I always like soy milk best for baking as it has the highest protein content.
Plain flour: just regular plain (all-purpose) flour is best here.
Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda: baking powder provides the rise and the bicarb is mixed with the dates while they soak which helps to soften them.
Ground ginger: sticky toffee pudding doesn't traditionally have any spices added to it, but I do like to add a little bit of ginger to mine. You can omit it for a more traditional pudding, or if you want to go spicier you can add some cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves as well.
For The Sticky Toffee Sauce:
Cream: you will need some form of non-dairy cream, whether that be soy or coconut based. My absolute favourite however is my home-made cashew cream which works amazingly well and gives the sauce a wonderful rich flavour.
Butter: any vegan butter/margarine that you like the flavour of should work but I favour Naturli Vegan Block.
Light brown soft sugar: unlike in the actual pudding, I like the flavour of light brown soft sugar in the toffee sauce best. If you only have dark brown sugar then I suggest omitting the treacle from the sauce to avoid it becoming too intensely flavoured (though if that is your kind of thing then by all means leave it in).
Treacle: treacle adds a rich, deep flavour. You can use molasses again here if you don't have treacle, or golden syrup for a lighter, sweeter sauce.
Vanilla extract: this is optional but I like the flavour. You can also add a splash of rum, whisky or brandy to the sauce for a grown-up, boozy kick.
How To Make Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding:
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
Place the chopped dates and bicarbonate of soda in a large jug and stir in 200ml of boiling water. Set aside to soak for 10 minutes so that the dates are nice and soft.
Add dark muscovado sugar, treacle, milk and oil to the date mixture (don't drain off the water!).
Use a stick blender to blitz it until it is fairly smooth. It doesn't need to be 100% smooth, you just don't want there to be any chunks of date left. Alternatively, you can transfer the lot to a blender to blend it if you don't have a stick one.
In a separate large bowl, sift together the plain flour, baking powder, ginger and a pinch of salt.
Add the blended date mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to form a smooth batter; don't over-beat it, just stir until no dry lumps remain.
Transfer the batter to a greased baking dish, about 23cm (9in) square (mine is about 20.5 x 24.5cm).
Bake for 20-30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Sticky Toffee Sauce:
Make the sauce while the pudding is baking. Place the light brown soft sugar, treacle and vegan butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Stir until it is melted and smooth.
Add the cream and vanilla extract, stir until smooth, bring up to a simmer then remove the pan from the heat.
Allow the pudding to cool in the dish for 10 minutes then prick the surface all over with a toothpick and drizzle over ½ to ⅔rds of the toffee sauce, making sure that the top of the pudding is fully covered.
Leave to cool for 20 minutes then serve with ice cream or custard and the rest of the sticky toffee sauce. (The sauce will thicken as it cools, simply reheat it in a pan or in the microwave for a few seconds until it becomes pourable again).
Top Tips:
For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
I recommend using my home-made cashew cream for the sticky toffee sauce but it also works well with soy cream, Elmlea Plant double cream or coconut cream.
You will find it easier to measure out the treacle if you either grease the spoon, or dip it in boiling water first.
The pudding should be served warm, not piping hot, so let it cool for 20 minutes or more before serving; even up to an hour is fine.
Serve the vegan sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream or custard.
How To Store Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding:
This vegan sticky toffee pudding is best eaten freshly baked but any leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheat slices in the microwave for about 30 seconds before serving.
Leftovers can also be frozen in a freezer-proof container for up to three months. Allow to defrost at room temperature then warm through in the microwave to serve.
More Vegan Dessert And Pudding Recipes:
Vegan steamed maple syrup pudding
Vegan lemon blueberry cheesecake
Chocolate raspberry skillet cookie for two
Vegan steamed chocolate pudding
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Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients
Pudding:
- 200 g (7 oz) chopped dried pitted dates
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 200 ml (¾ cup + 1 Tbsp) boiling water
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) neutral oil (I use sunflower)
- 60 ml (¼ cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- 60 g (⅓ cup) dark muscovado or dark brown soft sugar
- 50 g (2 Tbsp) treacle (or molasses)
- 150 g (1 ¼ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- pinch salt
Toffee Sauce:
- 120 g (½ cup) vegan butter/margarine (I use Naturli Vegan Block) diced
- 120 g (⅔ cup) light brown soft sugar
- 25 g (1 Tbsp) treacle (or molasses)
- 150 ml (½ cup + 2 Tbsp) non-dairy cream (home-made cashew cream, soy cream, Elmlea plant double or coconut cream)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease an approx 20-23cm / 8-9in square baking dish (mine is about 20.5 x 24.5cm).
- Place the chopped dates and bicarbonate of soda in a large jug and stir in the 200ml of boiling water. Set aside to soak for 10 minutes so that the dates are nice and soft.
- Add the oil, milk, dark muscovado sugar and treacle to the date mixture (don’t drain off the soaking liquid!).
- Use a stick blender to blitz it until it is fairly smooth. It doesn’t need to be 100% smooth, you just don’t want there to be any chunks of date left. Alternatively, you can transfer the lot to a blender to blend it if you don’t have a stick one.
- In a separate large bowl, sift together the plain flour, baking powder, ginger and a pinch of salt.
- Add the blended date mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to form a smooth batter; don’t over-beat it, just stir until no dry lumps remain.
- Transfer the batter to the greased baking dish, spread it level and bake for 20-30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Make the sauce while the pudding is baking. Place the butter, light brown soft sugar and treacle in a saucepan over a low heat. Stir until it is melted and smooth.
- Add the cream and vanilla extract, stir until smooth, bring up to a simmer then remove the pan from the heat. You can add a pinch of salt if you feel it needs it.
- Allow the pudding to cool in the dish for 10 minutes then prick the surface all over with a toothpick and drizzle over ½ to ⅔rds of the toffee sauce, making sure that the top of the pudding is fully covered.
- Leave to cool for 20 minutes then serve with ice cream or custard and the rest of the sticky toffee sauce. (The sauce will thicken as it cools, simply reheat it in a pan or in the microwave for a few seconds until it becomes pourable again).
Notes
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
- You will find it easier to measure out the treacle if you either grease the spoon, or dip it in boiling water first.
- This vegan sticky toffee pudding is best eaten freshly baked but any leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Michelle
This recipe is perfect! Quick and simple. My non-vegan family loved it and couldn’t tell the difference! Thank you so much!
Albertina
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Julie Cochran
Isn't a tbsp 15mls?
I see you need 50mls of treacle for cake which is listed as 2 tbsp but I'm wondering if this is enough
Hannah
Hi Julie, yes a tablespoon is 15ml but it is 50 grams of treacle, not ml. Weight doesn't always correlate to volume. 2 tbsp of treacle works out to about 50 grams but I really recommend weighing it out rather than using tablespoons as it is more accurate.