The ultimate dessert – these date and ginger toffee puddings smothered with brandy toffee sauce are totally irresistible!
I was watching Anne of Green Gables with my 9 year old daughter recently. I had to cajole her into watching it with me and even though she indulged me for a little while I could see that it didn’t capture her imagination.
Maybe the language is a little old fashioned, the pace a little slow… so we soon abandoned watching it right at the point where Anne (with an ‘e’) asks Marilla ‘have you ever been in the depths of despair?’.
Well this morning, out of the clear blue, I certainly did feel ‘in the depths of despair’. I really don’t know what came over me but I felt overwhelmed, sad, tearful and completely wretched.
The mood was quite possibly hormonally induced (it’s so much fun being a woman) and thankfully I managed to bake it out of my system.
Baking as therapy and stress release has worked for me on a number of similar occasions.
It’s wonderful to concentrate on mixing a few simple ingredients and be certain that a mere half hour later you will have something deliciously comforting to enjoy.
I have been in a date and ginger mood recently and these date and ginger sticky toffee puddings are pretty much the apotheosis of all things sweet, sticky and fragrant with spices.
If you are ever in a similarly bleak mood – or just simply in the mood to bake something really simple but incredibly rewarding to treat yourself with – give these a go. You won’t be sorry.
I baked this in Mini Pudding Moulds
* but I think you can probably use a silicone muffin tin just as well.
Smother your puddings in the Brandy Toffee Sauce and add a little pouring cream or vanilla ice cream if you want an even more indulgent dessert.
Here some further stickily sweet or date filled dessert inspiration from my favourite bloggers
Date and Ginger Sticky Toffee Puddings with Brandy Toffee Sauce
Ingredients
For the toffee sauce
- 100 ml | 3.5fl oz double cream
- 60 g | 2oz soft light brown sugar
- 25 g | 1oz dark soft brown sugar
- 80 g | 3oz unsalted butter cubed
- 1 tbsp brandy or dark rum
- Pinch salt
For the puddings
- 150 g | 5oz pitted soft dates chopped small
- 2 globes stem ginger chopped very small
- 175 ml | 6fl oz boiling water
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ––––
- 175 g | 6oz self raising flour
- 150 g | 5oz soft light brown sugar
- 75 g | 3oz unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 medium eggs lightly beaten
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- generous pinch ground cloves
- 12 pecans to decorate optional
Instructions
- Make the toffee sauce: put all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
- Once the sauce is bubbling a little stir in the brandy and cook for a minute or two until it is syrupy. Transfer to a small jug.
- Preheat the oven to 160C (325F). Grease 6 mini pudding moulds with butter and dust with flour shaking off any excess. Alternatively grease a silicone muffin tin.
- Place the chopped dates, stem ginger and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl. Pour the boiling water in the bowl and let it stand for 5 minutes. The soda will bubble a little bit.
- Transfer to a Vitamix or food processor and pulse briefly until you have a sticky pulp.
- In a stand mixer, whip the butter and sugar until fluffy, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl and beating again.
- Add the eggs and a tablespoon of the flour and beat together until incorporated.
- Sift the rest of the flour and all the spices over the bowl and mix them in with a spoon. Fold in the date and ginger pulp and mix it in.
- Divide among the moulds filling 2/3 of the way up. Tap the moulds on your countertop then place on a heavy tray and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the puddings are firm and risen and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes then carefully tap out of the moulds. You may need to level the bottoms so that the stand up straight.
- Serve while still warm with plenty of the toffee sauce poured over each pudding. Decorate with a couple of pecans per pudding if you like.
Neil Irvine says
Looks good. Can this be made ahead of time. Thanks
Lucy Parissi says
Hi Neil, yes you can – up to a day or two ahead. Heat them before serving though and make sure the sauce is warm too.
Janet Balas says
These look wonderful. Can you tell me how much a globe of ginger is?
Lucy Parissi says
If you buy stem ginger in syrup it is one of the little spheres (for lack of better description!) so about a tablespoon when you cut them up
Genene says
Could Australian Crystallized Ginger be used in this recipe in place of the ‘globes stem ginger’? If so would the measurement be 1 tablespoon finely diced?
Lucy Parissi says
Yes absolutely! Just dice it really small, add as much as you like. One tablespoon sounds fine 🙂
Teejulian says
Can you please tell me what double creme is? Thank you. This looks quite lucious!
In Search Of Yummy-ness says
I LOVE your photos in this post. Your pudding is beautiful, and I love how you styled the images. I understand what you said about getting blue… I find that happens to me often in the winter months. It's good that you have a way of working through it!
Angela Field says
These look fabulous. I want a spoon and to dive into the screen!
Jessica Holmes says
Wow! These puds look absolutely incredible. And your photograph – magnificent!!
Louise | Cygnet Kitchen says
I feel much the same, but I think that having one of these little puddings to myself (with an extra spoonful of that gorgeous Brandy Toffee Sauce) would definitely improve my mood! x
Anonymous says
Made these this afternoon. They were awesome. Warmed up a cold, dreary Manitoba day.
Lucy Parissi says
That's so lovely to hear – thanks for stopping by to comment : )
Hannah Hossack-Lodge says
It's been years since I had sticky toffee pudding! I love the addition of a bit of brandy, they look so tempting. I've been feeling a little gloomy too recently, it must just be the time of year…baking always helps at least a little though. x
Lucy Parissi says
I know – no light, rain and getting colder. I see a lot of baking in our future!
Choclette Blogger says
Oh my, those look so tempting. Love the addition of brandy in the sauce.I've got a real thing for ginger at the moment – even more than normal. Must be the horrible weather.
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
Excited for Christmas so I can make this pudding! Divine Lucy Xx
Camilla Hawkins says
I don't think the weather helps as I think I've been in much the same mood, it's suddenly so bleak outside, as the day went from sunshine to overcast darkness I felt my mood drop in the same proportion – need a pocket ray of sunshine. Baking is great therapy and even my daughter has cottoned onto this explaining the reason she wanted to bake the other day was because she found it relaxing:-) Your little puddings look totally divine and would lift my mood I'm sure;-)
Lucy Parissi says
Yes the weather has a lot to answer for Camilla. So dreary and dark outside and it just sets the tone… Would rather it was really cold but with bright blue skies! Baking is definitely a fantastic way to keep your hands busy and your mind on something other than how miserable you feel… My daughter has also gotten into baking lately – it's great. Bloggers in the making!
Emmyw says
Lucy your photos are absolutely stunning. You should be so proud. They tell such a story! I hope you're feeling a lot better now. I'm in a bit of a similar funk myself at the minute, I wish I could do some baking for stress release but I guess that will have to wait until the weekend. Until then I might go and grab a sticky toffee pudding, you've got my mouth watering!
Lucy Parissi says
Thank you : ) Sometimes the blues hit you when you least expect it and everything seems bleak. I am glad I have baking and the blog as an outlet!