I was totally inspired by the Angry English Chef the other night to make my own Sticky Toffee Pudding. Sure, I was tempted to make it gluten-free with my go-to almond flour and coconut flour combination. Maybe I could have used Swerve sweetener to take down the sugar content but then I thought, whatever, just this one time I’m going to make something sinfully bad for you. I mean, I hiked almost fifteen miles today to the top of Piute Pass and beyond, don’t I deserve a sinful desert such as that famous English classic Sticky Toffee Pudding?
Before Angry British Chef started yelling at me from the flat-screen screen t.v. in our living room, I honestly had never even tried a Sticky Toffee Pudding in my life! I had no idea it had dates in it. I had never made homemade caramel or toffee sauce before. (But I had to save some to add to my homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte of course!)
Fun fact! The first time I heard of Angry British Chef I saw him walking his stupid expensive fluffy dog in London! As a lover of all dogs rescued, I just happen to be very opinionated about dogs with balls and stupid expensive dogs. Like yo, bro, have you ever walked into a kill shelter and seen all the pups being put to sleep today? Get your dog neutered for fucks sake! Also if I’m on a hike, I just don’t need to see dog balls bouncing in the wind.
Today as we took a stroll among the changing fall leaves in the eastern Sierra we may have met an overly friendly off-leash trail dog who was definitely not neutered. Because if you are dumb enough to not get your pup altered obviously you would take your unaltered male dog to the most happening hiking trail in the Eastern Sierra, right? This was our two-year-old pup’s first adventure amongst the stunning jagged peaks of the Eastern Sierra and she lived it up, swimming in every azure blue alpine lake she could find. (And also perhaps running away from dogs with balls) This was day one of our eastern Sierras vacation. We had miles of trekking hiking trails planned every day. I mean I had to get out there and stretch my legs and shrink my ass as the night before we left I shoved a lot of Sticky Toffee Pudding at my face.
But enough about dog balls and the constantly changing autumn colors and back to Angry British Chef. When I was in my twenties, I was out for a stroll in Knightsbridge my first time ever overseas and my BFF pointed out Angry British Chef to me on the streets of London. This was many years before the hit T.V. show, So You Want To Be Yelled At By An Angry British Chef. I honestly had no clue who Gordon Ramsey was. That was my first trip to London back in 2004. Somehow on this trip I never got around to trying Sticky Toffee Pudding.
The first time I traveled to London was also the first time I went to a curry house and I have to say I was not impressed with my chicken tikka masala. Oh, how foodie Amber has changed over the years! I am now Indian food’s biggest American fan (Kind of like Cathy Bates in Misery but with a bottle of curry powder in my hand, not an ax)
The Angry British Chef definitely would have yelled at me in his slightly Scottish accent the first time I attempted to create my own Sticky Toffee Pudding. So let me give you some info and tips that will actually help you create a dense, sticky and delicious Sticky Toffee Pudding without all that British rage. Sticky Toffee Pudding is not a hard dessert to recreate but there are a few important tips you absolutely need to know.
Sticky Toffee Pudding is such a delious dessert to make for a small get-together for Thanksgiving. Obviously, you need enough of the ramakin molds for all the guests you will serve.
Sticky Toffee Pudding with Cardamom Mascarpone Cream
1 cup of dates, chopped. I prefer to buy the Medjol dates without the seeds. Buying deseeded dates is just easier.
3/4 cups of boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
5 tablespoons unsalted organic butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons molasses
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
When creating Sticky Toffee Pudding you need to measure out everything exactly. The eggs must be at room temperature. The butter must be soft. The flour must be sifted. If you don’t bake this by the book, your Sticky Toffee Pudding will overflow the ramekins and will not be dense enough. And then Angry British Chef will come through your television set and yell at you!
Now that we have all that out of the way, first of all, chop your dates. Cover the dates in the boiling water and sprinkle with the baking soda. Stir the baking soda in and let sit aside for 20 minutes. While this is marinading work on creaming your butter and sugar.
In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter. Add in the brown sugar and molasses. Mix in your eggs and vanilla. Sift together your dry ingredients and mix them in. At this point, mash your date mixture, water included, with a potato masher. If they are not mashed well enough, transfer to a nutribullet to get them nice and mashed. Mix in the dates to your batter.
Oil 6 small ramekins with butter and add your Sticky Toffee Pudding mixture. Only fill your ramekins 3/4’s of the way! The dough will rise as they bake. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Do not over-bake.
How to make the toffee
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup brown organic sugar
1/2 cup organic grass-fed unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Melt the butter on low heat. Do not leave the butter to go pet your Norwegian Forest cat for ten minutes! Angry British Chef would totally have yelled at me if he witnessed my first attempt ever at making toffee, But somehow I saved the toffee even with my cute Forest Cat detour.
Add the brown sugar to the butter. Start whisking. Mix in the cream and continue to whisk on medium heat for 5-8 minutes. the toffee will deepen in color just a bit. Do not let it stick or burn. As it darkens, at the very end, add the salt and the vanilla. Stir for just thirty seconds and then remove the toffee from the heat.
Mascarpone Cardamom Whipped Cream
1/2 cup marscapone cheese
3 teaspoons organic sugar
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla
In the Nutri-bullet, add the ingredients. Pulse for just thirty seconds. You will hear the sound of the Nutri-bullet change as the whipped cream thickens. That means stop pulsing! Save the whipped cream in the fridge until you are ready to serve the Gluten-Free Sticky Toffee Pudding.
When you are ready to serve the Sticky Toffee Pudding, carefully remove the Sticky Toffee Pudding from the ramekins, and pour the toffee over the top. Serve with a dollop of the Mascarpone Cardamom Whipped Cream.
