Gluten-Free Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake! Moist date cakes covered in a decadent, buttery toffee sauce. A show-stopping (but easy!) holiday dessert everyone will love.
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Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake. Have you heard of it? Have you TASTED it? It’s an absolute dream of a cake and an all-time favorite at my house.
The cakes are baked in individual ramekins making adorable and fancy single portions. Each cake is perfectly moist and studded with sticky dates. Add a drizzle of homemade buttery toffee sauce and a touch of heavy cream and you have the ultimate holiday dessert!
One of my favorite things to do over the holidays is to bake special, from-scratch treats for my family. Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake has become something my kids look forward to every year! They are always thrilled to get their own special cakes plated on fancy dishes.
One of the tricks to making the BEST Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes is to use high-quality ingredients. I like to use fresh Medjool dates for the cakes. I always have dates in my pantry, and I love Medjool dates because they are soft and caramelly sweet.
Gluten-Free Sticky Toffee Pudding
I also like to use a high quality vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste for these cakes. My favorite is Nielsen- Massey Vanilla. Did you know all Nielsen-Massey products are 100% gluten-free? They were gluten-free before anyone even thought to ask. As soon as you open a bottle of Nielsen-Massey Vanilla, you can tell it’s high quality – the smell is absolutely divine!
Nielsen-Massey uses a proprietary cold extraction process instead of heat extraction to preserve the 300+ distinctive flavor compounds present in vanilla beans, giving Nielsen-Massey vanilla extracts a rich, complex flavor profile.
I use Nielsen-Massey’s Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract in the cakes, and Nielsen-Massey’s Pure Vanilla Bean Paste in the toffee sauce as a special ingredient. The vanilla bean paste is flecked with vanilla seeds and the creamy, velvety flavor really takes this dessert to the next level. I also like to add a drizzle of heavy cream for another layer of richness.
I usually make Sticky Toffee Pudding a few times during the holidays. It’s my go-to when we have guests over during November and December. It’s also a great non-pie dessert option for Thanksgiving and one of my favorite choices for our Christmas feast. Try serving it with this Dairy-Free Hot Chocolate!
So many of my favorite holiday traditions involve baking. This is a dessert I hope my kids remember as special and memorable during the holidays!
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Gluten-Free Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake
Ingredients
For the Cakes:
- 170 grams dates, 10-12 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
- ¾ cup boiling water, 177 ml
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour, 160 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened, 56 grams
- ¾ cup brown sugar, 150 grams
- 2 large eggs
For the Toffee Sauce:
- 1 stick butter, ½ cup, 113g
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar, 200 grams
- ⅔ cup heavy cream, 156ml
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the dates, boiling water, baking soda and vanilla. Let the dates soak for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350F (177C). Lightly grease 8 ramekins (I use 6oz ramekins) with cooking spray. Place on a baking sheet.
- In a medium bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Whisk to combine.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the butter and brown sugar. Using a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy and combined, about 1-2 minutes. While mixing, add the eggs one a time mixing after each addition.
- With the mixer on low, add ⅓ of the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Add ½ of the date mixture and mix. Add another ⅓ of the dry ingredients followed by the other ½ of the date mixture, and mix. Add the final ⅓ of the dry ingredients and mix until totally combined.
- Divide the batter evenly among the ramekins. Bake for 22-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Let cool for at least 15 minutes (or more) before plating.
For the toffee sauce:
- Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the sugar and salt. Then cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture looks puffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- While whisking, slowly add the cream. Continue to whisk and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for about 3 minutes until thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla bean paste. Pour into a serving container or a jar for storing. Serve sauce warm. Sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance then reheated.
- Serve the cakes by turning the cake out onto a plate. Pour over some of the warm sauce and a drizzle of heavy cream if desired. Enjoy!
Liana says
Delicious,,! Rich and decadent so not your everyday dessert. But oh so good!!
Erin Collins says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Liana Roy says
Hi Erin….this sounds delicious. Would pouring the batter into muffins tins work as well? And can vanilla extract take the place of the vanilla paste?
Thank you.
Erin Collins says
Yes! Using a muffin tin and vanilla extract in place of paste will work great. Let me know how it turns out!
Micaela Paz Soldan says
Hi! What can I replace the vanilla bean paste with if I can’t find it? Can I use vanilla extract instead?
Erin Collins says
Yes you can easily use vanilla extract instead. I would use 2 teaspoons vanilla extract in place of the 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste!
Connie says
Can these be baked in muffin tins ahead of time, and reheated before serving?
Erin Collins says
Yes that should work great! The cakes can be made up to 2 days in advance.
Sarah says
Can almond flour be used?
Cate says
do I drain the water from the dates after the 15 minutes ?
Charlotte says
Hi Cate,
No, you use that tasty date water for sure! It adds to the moisture content of the pudding so you most certainly don’t want to throw it away. Also remember that the soaking mixture has the vanilla and baking soda in it too, which are also key components for the pudding. Hope this helps you and you end up with a super tasty and moist pudding 🙂
Erin Collins says
Yes you definitely use the water! Thanks for the clarification 🙂
Cate says
Could I bake this in a bundt pan as I don’t have enough I individual ramekins and need to make enough for 12
Erin Collins says
I would actually suggest an 8×8 or 9×9 pan as an alternative. That should work great!
Cate says
Thanks !! Also do I drain the water from the dates after the 15 minutes ?
Erica says
how long should we bake it if its in a larger pan? Is the temperature different also?
Erin Collins says
For an 8×8 or 9×9 you will need to bake it longer – I would add 5-10 minutes then check it. The temperature will be the same!
Tamatha says
I’m going to friends…
can I make the cake mixture, pour into ramekins and leave in fridge for a couple of hours??
Erin Collins says
Yes that will work great!
Margaret says
I’d love to try this but 1 cup flour (GF or not) usually translates to 120g. Your recipe reads 160g – that’s quite a bit more and enough to make a difference in the texture. I always bake by weight because it’s more accurate. Any thoughts on this? Did you make this recipe by volume or weight?
Erin Collins says
King Arthur Flour 1:1 Baking Flour that I use here has a higher density than regular flour – especially when people scoop and measure it from the bag. Definitely use the 160g – it’s supposed to be more than the usual 120g per cup 🙂
Margaret says
OK will do Erin – thanks for getting back to me!
Sarah DeNeui says
Added a bit of cinnamon and ginger! Delicious!
Erin Collins says
I’m so glad it turned out for you! 🙂
Sarah says
Is there a way to make this vegan by any chance!? Or at least egg/dairy alternatives! Thank you
Erin Collins says
Unfortunately this recipe really needs the eggs! Sorry about that!
Deb says
Hi, This looks amazing and I’m going to try the recipe. I have one question. My gluten free baking flour suggests adding xanthem gum to the mix. Will this be ok? Thanks!
Court says
Also have this question! Are you making your own self-rising flour with this all purpose flour + baking powder? Lots of other gluten free sticky toffee puddings talk about self-rising flours. But what about the xanthan gum? Thanks so much!
Excited to make this!!
Erin Collins says
I just use standard GF 1:1 baking flour here! 🙂
Holiday says
Guys. There aren’t words to describe how much I loved this. I had 2 bites left of a test serving when my husband came home early and I SHOVED IT IN MY MOUTH instead of sharing when he came in the kitchen . I love him lots, but my heart and stomach were already anticipating those last 2 bites and I wasn’t about to give them up lol. I’ll be making this again and again for every holiday (or Tuesday, whatever).
Erin Collins says
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for the comment 🙂