Sticky toffee pudding
English dessert
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sticky toffee pudding is an English dessert consisting of a moist sponge cake covered in a toffee sauce, often served with a vanilla custard or vanilla ice cream.[1] It is widely served in the Lake District in northwest England, where it is a culinary symbol.[2]
| |
| Alternative names | Sticky date pudding |
|---|---|
| Type | Pudding |
| Course | Dessert |
| Place of origin | England |
| Region or state | Northern England |
| Main ingredients | Sponge cake, dates, toffee |
Composition
Sticky toffee pudding comprises moist sponge cake which contains finely chopped dates covered with toffee sauce.[2] The sponge is usually light and fluffy, closer to a muffin consistency rather than a heavier traditional English sponge, and is often lightly flavoured with nuts or spices such as cloves.[2][3] The toffee sauce is usually made from double cream and different dark sugars (brown sugar, jaggery, molasses sugar, muscovado, panela, peen tong).[3]
Sticky toffee pudding is most commonly served with custard or vanilla ice cream, the vanilla flavour of these complementing the richer flavours of the pudding.[3] It may also be served with single cream.
Origins
Sticky toffee pudding was invented in 1907 by the landlady of the Gait Inn in Millington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was popularised in the 1970s by Francis Coulson and Robert Lee, who developed and served it at the Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel in Cumbria.[4][5]
A take-home version to heat, either in oven or microwave, was developed in 1989 by the owners of the Village Shop in Cartmel, Cumbria.[2][6] Their dish became popular, and by the late 1990s was being sold in supermarkets across the UK.[6] The dish is today widely available in England from manufacturers to bake at home.[7]
