What’s your all-time favourite pudding? Mine has to be Sticky Toffee Pudding! It’s so wonderfully comforting and the perfect finish to any meal. Whether it’s with custard or ice cream, it’s definitely my go-to pud!
And now here it is in cake form, in all its glory!
Three layers of sticky date and toffee sponges sandwiched with gorgeous vanilla buttercream and filled with the creamiest vanilla custard and the signature toffee sauce – yum!
I decided to go for a simple finish for this cake – I really think it makes the toffee drip the star of the show! And we’re all about the toffee over here.
Now I know not everyone likes dates but I think they are key to creating that delicious depth of sticky toffee flavour. In my recipe, I’ve blended them up so you won’t even be able to tell they’re there! But of course, you can omit them and the recipe will work just as well.
Also, if you don’t require a gluten-free diet (lucky you!) then you can subsitute normal flour and skip out the xanthan gum. Fear not, if you do make it gluten-free I don’t think you’d be able to tell the difference – it’s just that good!!
This recipe takes up to 4 hours to make including baking and chilling times. It makes a three layer 6″ cake (about 10-12 servings). The toffee sauce and vanilla custard can be made the day before but must be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Ingredients:
For the sponges:
- 150 g pitted dates, chopped
- 100 ml boiling water
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 150 g unsalted butter, softened
- 150 g soft light brown sugar
- 50 g soft dark brown sugar
- 125 g treacle (if you can’t find this, you can use golden syrup)
- 6 eggs
- 250 g gluten-free self raising flour
- 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 1 tsp xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend already contains it or if you’re using normal flour)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
For the vanilla custard:
- 100 g caster sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 250 ml whole milk
- 4 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
For the vanilla buttercream:
- 400 g unsalted butter, chopped into cubes and softened (for a whiter buttercream you can use 3:1 butter to Trex instead)
- 800 g icing sugar
- 20 ml double cream or whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
For the toffee sauce:
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 125 g light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp black treacle
- 300 ml double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Useful Equipment: three 6″ cake tins, baking paper, weighing scales, small/medium saucepan, whisk, spatula, measuring jug, hand/stand mixer, mixing bowls, heatproof bowl, food processor/hand blender, wire cooling rack, baking tray, cake board, turntable (optional!), angled spatula, cake scraper, piping bag with nozzles, squeezy bottle (good for doing the drip!)
There are quite a few elements to this cake so it may require a bit of multi-tasking! You can make the custard and toffee sauce the day before if needed – even the buttercream will keep for a few days before assembling the cake, it will just need whisking back up again before use. All three of these elements can be stored in the fridge if made earlier.
To get started, I would make the sponges and then, whilst they are baking, make the custard. This can then go in the fridge until it’s needed. The toffee sauce can be made while the cakes are cooling. Finally, you can make the buttercream and start assembling the cake straight away. I would advise chilling the cake after covering in buttercream and then also after doing the toffee drip just to make sure it is set (it makes any additional decorating you might like to do so much easier!).
For any advice or troubleshooting, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via the comments, my contact page, or on social media!
Method:
For the sponges:
- Preheat the oven to 160 °C fan/320 °F and grease and line three 6″ cake tins with baking paper.
- In a heatproof bowl, mix together the dates and bicarb and pour over the boiling water. Mix together and leave to stand for 15 mins.
- Puree the date mixture using a food processor or hand blender until smooth and set aside. If you prefer to keep your dates chunky, you can skip this step.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the unsalted butter and both the sugars.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition.
- Add the flour, treacle, baking powder, xanthan gum, vanilla and date mixture and fold to combine.
- Divide the mixture equally between the three tins and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 15 mins before carefully running a sharp knife around the edges and turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the custard:
- Place the sugar, cornflour and milk in a medium saucepan and heat gently while whisking. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to ensure no cornflour gets caught. Heat until the milk starts to simmer.
- Turn the heat down to low and whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time, to prevent scrambling. Once combined, whisk over a medium heat, bringing it to the boil for at least 5 minutes. The custard should start to get thick. When thickened, remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.
- Place in the fridge until ready to use. Tip: Place cling film over the surface of the custard, this will prevent a skin from forming as it cools.
For the toffee sauce:
- Add all the ingredients to a medium sized saucepan and heat on low until melted and mixed together.
- Bring to the boil for at least 1 minute and then take off the heat to cool. I like to transfer it to a heatproof bowl to cool down completely. Stir it occassionally to make sure it doesn’t form a skin. If making in advance, place cling film over the surface of the sauce (to prevent a skin) and place in the fridge until needed. It will need reheating again carefully to get it to the right drip consistency for decoration.
For the vanilla buttercream:
- In a mixing bowl with a hand/stand mixer, beat the butter until pale and softened.
- Gradually add the icing sugar whilst mixing (a paddle attachment on a stand mixer is good for this or a powerful hand mixer will work too).
- Add the vanilla bean paste (or extract) and cream and whisk until smooth and silky.
- Place the buttercream into a large piping bag ready to assemble the cake.
Assembling the cake:
- Place a small amount of buttercream onto your cake board and place the first sponge on top. This will fix it in place and make it easier to assemble.
- Pipe a crown of buttercream along the edge of the sponge. You want it to be quite tall and thick (approx 3cm diameter) so it can hold the filling – you may want to do a couple of layers. Spoon 2 tbsp of toffee sauce into the middle. Using the back of the spoon, spread the sauce until there is an even layer. Spoon the custard on top, filling to the brim of the buttercream crown.
- Place the second sponge on top and repeat with the buttercream and filling, topping with the third sponge.
- Using a palette knife, cover the cake in buttercream. If you want a nude finish, do so sparingly and using the cake scraper, scrape as much off the cake as you like. You can of course cover the cake completely if you prefer like I’ve done – it definitely gives it some stability as the filling is very soft. Once you’re happy with how it is covered, place in the fridge to set for at least 30 mins.
- Once chilled, prepare the toffee sauce for the drip. If you’ve made it ahead of time, microwave the sauce for 10 seconds or until the right consistency is reached. You want it to slowly run down the cake but not completey run off.
- For the curtain drip, I poured the toffee sauce on top of the cake and, using a palette knife, pushed the sauce to the edge for it to spill over. For neater looking drips, you can do a drip at a time using a teaspoon or a squeezy bottle.
- For a simple finish – you’re done! Grab a slice and enjoy! If you want to decorate further, chill for at least 30 minutes before decorating to your heart’s content – perhaps some buttercream swirls on top?
This cake needs to be stored in the fridge due to the custard filling and cream used in the recipe. Make sure to bring it out of the fridge at least an hour before serving so that it can come to room temperature.
Wondering what to do with leftover egg whites? Why not try out some of my macaron recipes? Check out my white chocolate & raspberry macarons, peanut butter chocolate macarons and mocha macarons!
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