Tom Kerridge's Christmas Sticky Toffee Puddings
An alternative to traditional Christmas pudding, these mini sticky toffee puddings are a favourite of mine. They can be made ahead and baked just before serving for an indulgent but stress-free Christmas dessert.
Ingredients
Sticky Toffee Sauce
To Serve
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 160C fan.
Step 2
Chop the dates up roughly and place into a small heatproof bowl. Sprinkle in the bicarbonate of soda, pour on the boiling water and cover. Leave the dates to soften for around 30 minutes.
Step 3
Place the mixed peel and dried fruit into a separate bowl, pour over the rum and leave to soak.
Step 4
Prepare your pudding moulds (8 x 200ml) by brushing the inside of each one with a little butter. Next dust the insides with flour, making sure to shake out any excess.
Step 5
When the dates are soft, mash them well with a fork incorporating the water.
Step 6
Place the butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat together with an electric whisk until smooth. Add the treacle and beat again until incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dates and soaked fruits to the bowl along with the vanilla extract and mix well. Lastly add the flour and milk and fold into the mixture until combined.
Step 7
Divide the batter into the 8 pudding moulds, smooth off the tops with a spoon and carefully place them onto an oven tray. Put the tray on the middle shelf in the oven and cook for 25 minutes.
Step 8
Meanwhile make the toffee sauce by putting the sugar, butter and cream into a saucepan and placing it over a medium heat. Stir well and bring up to a gentle simmer. Continue to stir until the sugar dissolves completely then remove from the heat.
Step 9
When the puddings are cooked, remove them from the oven and leave to cool slightly before turning them out to serve.
Step 10
Alternatively, these can be baked off the day before and heated up just before serving. You just need to place them into a lined roasting tin and cover with foil to prevent them from drying out. Heat them for 8 minutes at 160C fan.
Step 11
When you’re ready to serve, heat the sauce and serve it alongside the sticky toffee puddings with big scoops of vanilla ice cream.
