A classic British sticky toffee pudding recipe made deliciously gooey by cooking it to the perfect temperature. 

For the pudding

• 225g whole Medjool dates
• 175ml boiling water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 175g self-raising flour, plus extra for greasing
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 85g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 70g dark muscovado sugar
• 70g demerara sugar
• 2 tbsp black treacle
• 100ml milk

For the toffee sauce

• 100g dark muscovado sugar
• 70g Demerara sugar
• 50g butter, cut into pieces
• 225ml double cream
• 1 tbsp black treacle

Directions

• Cut the dates in half and take out the stones. Cut into small pieces and place them all in a bowl. Pour over 175ml boiling water and leave for around 30 minutes.

• Grab your pudding tins and butter them with some of the excess butter. Sprinkle some flour inside. Heat oven to 180 °C fan/ gas mark 4.
• With the dates soaking, it’s time to make the pudding mix. Combine the bicarbonate of soda, self-raising flour, and spices in a bowl. 
• Break and beat the eggs in a separate bowl.
• Cream together the softened butter and sugar in a bowl for a few minutes. Slowly add the eggs a little at a time, beating well between additions.
• Mix in the black treacle. Once combined, gently fold in one-third of the dry mix of flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices, then half of the milk, being careful not to overwork the mixture. Repeat until you’ve used all of the flour mix and milk.

• Grab the soaked dates and give them a light mash using a fork just to break them up a little. Add this to the pudding mix.
• Spread the mixture evenly across the pudding tins. The mix will rise, so don’t fill them all the way to the top. 
• Bake for around 20-25 mins, checking for an internal temperature of 88 °C using your Thermapen.
• While the puddings are baking, make the sauce. Put all the sugar and butter for the sauce in a medium saucepan with half the double cream.
• Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, making sure to stir continuously.
• Once all the sugar has dissolved, stir in 1 tbsp black treacle, turn up the heat slightly and let the mixture bubble away for 2-3 mins until it is a rich toffee colour. Keep stirring to make sure it doesn’t burn. Take the pan off the heat and beat in the rest of the double cream.
• Once the puddings are ready, remove them from the oven and leave to one side for around 5 minutes. Once cooled, loosen from the sides of the tins with a small palette knife before turning them out.
• Pour over some of the toffee sauce along with either cream or custard, and enjoy.