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This chocolate sticky toffee pudding is ideal when you can't make up your mind between sticky toffee pudding or a chocolate dessert and you end up wanting both! We all know there's no better combination than chocolate and toffee and that you will really hit the sweet tooth with this one. This chocolate dessert is perfect for when you've got people coming round - it serves up to 8 people so you will have enough to go around and because it's very rich, you only need to dish up a little portion. You can serve this chocolate sticky toffee pudding either as it is or with some vanilla ice cream - hot and cold go really well together and the ice cream cuts through the sweetness of this pud.
Ingredients
300ml (½ pint) boiling water
150g (5oz) chopped dates
100g (4oz) dark chocolate 100g (4oz) butter, softened
150g (5oz) soft light brown sugar or light muscovado sugar
3 eggs
225g (8oz) plain flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp baking powder
For the toffee sauce
275g (10oz) golden syrup
275g (10oz) light brown sugar
100g (4oz) butter
225ml (8fl oz) cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
WEIGHT CONVERTER
grams
to
cups
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark 4). Grease the sides of a 20cm (8in) diameter spring-form tin and line the base with a round disc of greaseproof paper.
Put the water in a saucepan, reduce to a simmer and soak the dates in it for 10 mins. At the same time, melt the chocolate in a bowl sitting over a saucepan of simmering water (also known as a bain marie).
Cream the softened butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and soft. Beat in the eggs one by one and then mix in the melted chocolate. Sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder, then add the dates and the soaking liquid and stir to mix. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake in the oven for 1 hr or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre. Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a plate.
To make the toffee sauce, put all the ingredients into a saucepan on a high heat and boil them for 4-5 mins, stirring regularly, until they are smooth.
To serve, place the cake on a large serving plate (with a rim or a lip around the edge) and pour some of the hot toffee sauce over the top. Serve the remaining sauce in a jug or bowl on the side.
Top Tip for making Rachel Allen's chocolate sticky toffee pudding
Allyson Price, 72 from Cambridgeshire says if you flour nuts and dried fruits before adding them to cake recipes, they won't sink to the bottom.
Rachel Allen left home at just 18 to pursue a career in cooking. Originally from Dublin, Ireland she moved to County Cork to study at the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School. Soon after graduating from the prestigious culinary school, she worked at the Ballymaloe House Hotel testing recipes and then onto teaching at the school.
Her first television series, called Rachel’s Favourite Food, was broadcast in 2004 throughout Ireland, Canada, Australia and elsewhere in Europe. A book of the same name accompanied the series, giving viewers a true insight into Rachel’s special brand of family-orientated cooking and recipes.
Since then she has authored more than eight different cookery books (opens in new tab), based around baking and home cooking. She’s particularly famous for her baking recipes, such as the delicious walnut and American frosting cake (opens in new tab), as well as simpler recipes like basic fairy cakes (opens in new tab). Rachel’s books have sold more than 1 million copies worldwide.
As well as being a TV chef and author, Rachel writes regular columns for Irish magazine, The Sunday Tribune. In the past, she has also contributed to BBC Good Food magazine and AWT at Home magazine.
Alongside writing, Rachel also teaches at the same school she trained. She regularly appears on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen and has her own popular cooking show on Irelands RTE network.
In March 2017, Rachel Allen opened her first restaurant. Dwyers of Cork on Washington Street in Cork is a joint business venture with her husand, Isaac, and publican Paul Montgomery.
Appearing on the show over a number of years, in September 2019 Rachel returned as a judge and co-host with Marco Pierre White on the popular Irish television series, The Restaurant.
Rachel lives in County Cork with her husband, Issac. The couple have three children together - Luka, Joshua and Scarlett.
From simple one-pot meals and roast dinners to your favourite sweet treats, we’ve got all of the best Rachel Allen recipes (opens in new tab) to choose from.
Coconut milk panna cotta
