Oh my gosh, this is what dreams are made of. A gorgeous sticky toffee pudding – in a bundt pan. With an easy toffee sauce that even a caramel novice can master. It’s what this cold January has been begging for!
So yeah, I finally got myself a bundt tin. Well, it was actually a Christmas present (thanks Mum & Dad) but you know what I mean. I’ve been meaning to get on the bundt bandwagon for so long, and now I’ve well and truly boarded. I’m dreaming about mini bundt pans and everything. The future is ring-shaped.
Before I get stuck into this sticky toffee bundt heaven, I want to shout out this post from Bunsen Burner Bakery which answered all my questions about baking in a bundt tin. If you’re a bundt pan novice like me, then definitely check this out so you don’t end up with a shoddy bundt cake. Plus, so many great ideas for future bundt cakes!
Right, first up: the actual sticky toffee bundt pudding.
Sticky Toffee Bundt
This is adapted from this BBC Good Food recipe for tiny little sticky toffee puddings – with a couple of game-changing adjustments. Firstly, out with the self-raising flour, because I definitely don’t have the kitchen storage space to keep both self-raising and plain flour. I like to make sure that all the recipes on What Charlotte Baked use only plain flour – just another thing to help keep things simple.
In goes some ground ginger, because toffee and ginger and kitchen BFFs. Bump up the measurements a bit, because we’re going large with this 10 inch bundt tin. If you want to make a half quantity of the recipe below, then this should bake perfectly in a 9 inch cake tin. You may need to adjust the baking time though – check it after 30 minutes to be sure.
I (along with everyone else in the baking world) am recommending that you use Medjool dates for this recipe, instead of the little ones you get at Christmas. They are much bigger and juicier, and have a great caramel taste which adds to the sticky toffee flavour. Plus, you can find them in all the major UK supermarkets. If you’re not a fan of dates then don’t fret, because you won’t notice them in the pudding. But you’d definitely notice if you left them out.
We’ve used dates around here to add a toffee flavour to a warm winter dessert before – check out my Toffee Apple Crumble if you don’t believe me.
Easy Peasy Sticky Toffee Sauce
You might be thinking that making toffee sauce from scratch seems like a recipe for disaster, rather than for a delicious winter pudding. Well, you couldn’t be more wrong. This sticky toffee sauce doesn’t need a sugar thermometer (you know how rubbish I am with those) and is a one-pan masterpiece that you can’t go far wrong with.
Put butter, cream, and dark brown sugar (so much dark brown sugary goodness today) into a saucepan, stir it, and bring to the boil. Add a little bit of treacle or molasses for a boost of flavour. Let it bubble for a few minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in some more cream. Try and avoid just spooning the sauce straight into your mouth. Job done.
And it’s nice and thick – pour some of it onto your sticky toffee bundt cake, and you’ll get that lush dripping effect that is all over the place at the moment. See for yourself:
The Proof of the Pudding
So we’ve made the best sticky toffee pudding of our lives – so what about the eating? This 10 inch bundt pan full of sticky toffee joy will feed about 12 people. Yep – 12 whole people. So this is the perfect pudding to whip up for a family Sunday lunch, or to feed an army. But, the good news is that:
a) It’s a guarantee that people will want seconds, so you’ve got to have some extra to spare
and
b) you can keep any leftovers in the fridge for a day or two, and then reheat in the microwave.
The leftovers from this sticky toffee bundt pudding, drizzled in sauce, only get more sticky and gooey after a day in the fridge. Chop up any leftover bundt pudding into serving-sized pieces, and reheat in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Any spare sauce can also be kept covered in the fridge, and then reheated in the microwave or in a saucepan on the hob. Perfect after a hard day’s work.
That spoon up there? That was a Christmas present… to myself. I like to treat myself to something at Christmas time, and then I even wrap it up and put it under the tree. Who wouldn’t want to open such an adorable little spoon on Christmas afternoon? Kate’s also got one that says “Ron’s Emotional Range”. That’s a joke for all your Potter-heads out there.
I’ve got to stop going on about Christmas. It’s over. We’ve all got to move on. It’s sticky toffee bundt time.
- 400g (14oz or 2¼ cups) dates, preferably Medjool
- 350ml (1½ cups) boiling water
- 170g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 300g (1½ cups) dark brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 350g (2¾ cups) plain or all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 180ml (¾ cups) milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 350g (1¾ cups) dark brown sugar
- 110g (½ cup) unsalted butter
- 500ml (2 cups) double or heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons black treacle or molasses
- Chop the dates into small pieces, being careful to remove the stones. Place them into a bowl or jug and cover with the freshly boiled water. Leave to soak for 30 minutes, after which time they should be soft and squishy. Use a fork to mash them up so that you have a sort of chunky date smoothie. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 355°F (160°C fan). Do not grease your bundt tin at this stage - you're going to do this later.
- Place the butter and sugar into a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) and beat together on high until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Add the flour, ginger, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, and salt to the bowl. Gently mix together on a low speed until combined. Add the milk, vanilla extract and continue to mix on low until combined. Pour the mashed dates and water into the bowl and give it one final mix on low, until you have an even batter.
- Now it's time to grease your bundt tin. I use non-stick baking spray to grease mine, and I find it best to do this immediately before adding the batter so that the spray doesn't drip down to the bottom whilst mixing the batter. You can also use softened or melted butter and then dust with a bit of flour if you don't have baking spray. Spoon or pour the batter into the greased bundt tin and level out with the back of a spoon or spatula.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the pudding comes out clean. Place the bundt pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, and then turn the tin upside down to release the pudding. If you are planning to serve the pudding immediately from the oven, then make the sticky toffee sauce whilst the pudding is baking (start about 15 minutes before the pudding is ready). Alternatively, leave the pudding on the wire rack to cool completely - see my notes at the end of the recipe if you are making ahead.
- Place the sugar, butter, and 250ml (1 cup) of the cream into a medium saucepan on a medium heat. Stir pretty much continuously until the mixture starts to bubble. Stir in the treacle or molasses and then leave on the heat to bubble for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally so as not to burn. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 250ml (1 cup) of cream. If serving immediately then drizzle some of the sauce over the bundt pudding, and then pour the rest into a jug for people to pour onto their slices as needed. If making ahead, then see my note below.
- This sticky toffee bundt pudding is also great if made one day ahead. To do this, bake the pudding as per above, leave in the tin to cool for 10 minutes, and then remove from the tin and leave to completely cool on a wire rack. Place on a plate and then cover with clingfilm or plastic wrap and keep in the fridge. The next day, place the pudding on a baking tray and warm back up in a 180°C / 355°F (160°C fan) oven for 20-25 minutes.
- The sauce is also great the following day. Make as per the recipe above, and then leave to cool down. Pour into a container, cover, and then pop in the fridge. When needed, warm back up in a saucepan on a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until nice and hot.
- You can also freeze both the pudding and the sauce for up to three months. Defrost and then heat up as above.
- Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge and then reheated in the oven or microwave.
OMG it looks sooooo good! and decadent ♥
Thanks Natalie! ?
Literally everyone at work was LIVING over this pudding, do you remember I took some in with the tupperware of sauce? And then Caroline and I did a pudding heating conveyor belt in the work kitchen and everyone had hot little bowls of pudding to eat and they all absolutely ADORED it. I was so popular at work that day <3