Sticky toffee pudding is our favourite British dessert. It’s very indulgent, rich and aromatic and it firmly belongs in winter. Each bite reminds me of my past London life. It takes me back to long Sunday walks in Hampstead Heath on sunny, winter days followed by a lunch in a cosy gastropub, a glass of red wine and a share (or whole if there was room) of sticky toffee pudding.
You would be forgiven for thinking that a pudding this rich isn’t an easy thing to veganise, but we found the opposite to be true. We replaced butter with good quality olive oil and because the sponge recipe feels like it could have had some Middle Eastern influence (dates, tea, muscovado sugar), olive oil seems to belong in this recipe. Instead of eggs, we used unsweetened apple purée, which keeps the sponge moist and balances the sweetness of dates and sugar nicely. Acidity in the apples and baking soda leaven the cake so both functions of eggs (leavening and keeping the cake moist) have been taken care of in quite an uncomplicated way. This moist aromatic sponge is delicious on its own with a mug of hot tea or coffee, but a drizzle of slightly salted toffee sauce and a scoop of plain vanilla ice cream take it to the next level. Try it, it won’t disappoint! Duncan, our cat Tina and myself are wishing you all a very merry Xmas!
175 g / 1 cup pitted dates, roughly chopped 1 teabag of chai (or English breakfast tea) 80 ml light/mild olive oil 50 g / 1/3 cup dark muscovado sugar 50 g / scant ¼ cup brown sugar 100 g / ½ cup of unsweetened apple purée* (from sour apples) 100 ml almond milk 175 g / heaped 1 and 1/3 cup plain flour, sifted 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp vanilla extract
TOFFEE SAUCE
100 g / ½ cup sugar (I used brown, unrefined) 120 ml / ½ cup + 60 ml / ¼ cup full fat coconut milk a few pinches of salt
TOFFEE SAUCE
