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When it comes to the ultimate treat dessert it doesn’t get much better than a Gluten Free Sticky Toffee Pudding.
The sweet sponge is drowned in lashings of toffee sauce to make just the most indulgent treat ever. And it’s completely gluten free and coeliac-safe!
Whenever I go out for dinner I always find dessert the hardest thing and watching others get stuck into a sticky toffee pudding cake was always soul-destroying.
But now I’ve created a gluten free version of this classic pud which looks better than anything I’ve seen others eat in a restaurant!
The cake is made with dates giving it a rich flavour and sticky texture and the thick toffee sauce is so amazing I want to bathe in it.
If you want a gluten free pudding recipe which will be a real crowdpleaser than this is definitely it.
I always feed this to my family and they absolutely love it – none of them are gluten free but they say they wouldn’t know the difference!
It’s a great dessert for Christmas or when you’ve got a special occasion and want to create a treat for a crowd of people.
What’s the difference between sticky toffee and sticky date pudding?
Did you know that sticky toffee pudding and sticky date pudding are actually the same thing?
Sticky toffee pudding is a rich and sticky dessert with a thick toffee sauce on top – and is usually made with chopped dates.
However in Australia and New Zealand it’s more commonly known as sticky date pudding.
So whichever one you’re searching for, you’ve definitely come to the right place!
Sticky Toffee Pudding Ingredients
There’s a full printable recipe card below with the full ingredients and method, but here are the main bits you’ll need for the shopping list.
- Medjool Dates: The key part of this recipe involves boiling the chopped dates with water to make a delicious toffee base for your cake. Don’t worry if you don’t like dates – if you chop them super fine you’ll never know they’re there! But they’re so important for creating the texture in this sticky cake.
- Unsalted Butter: If you wanted to make this cake dairy free, you could use a dairy free alternative instead of butter.
- Sugar: I use a mixture of dark brown sugar and caster sugar in this recipe – both for the sauce and the cake. The dark brown gives this a deep toffee flavour. Light brown sugar would work too but might be slightly less richer in flavour.
- Eggs: I’ve not tried this with an egg substitute so not sure how it would work. The eggs are used to bind the cake together so unfortunately the recipe is not vegan.
- Self-raising gluten free flour: I use the FREEE self raising flour but any variety would work. If you only have a plain or All Purpose gluten free flour, add 1 tsp baking powder per 100g of flour.
- Double Cream: I use this to create the rich sauce do you’d need to find a dairy free alternative if you want to make this recipe dairy free. In the US you’ll want a heavy cream for this recipe.
Don’t forget the full recipe is below in the recipe card with all the quantities.
Can I freeze this sticky toffee pudding?
The good news if you’re making this in advance is that you can freeze it.
Personally I would freeze the cake before adding the toffee sauce and then freeze them both separately, defrosting thoroughly before heating.
I have also frozen leftovers of this with the sauce and it worked just as well.
Any leftover sauce can be kept in a heatproof glass jar – then to heat it up simply plate in a pan of hot water until it loosens.
To store this pudding you can keep it either in a sealed container at room temperature, or in the fridge.
My gluten free sticky toffee pudding recipe
This gluten free sticky toffee pudding recipe is a really easy recipe to create for a family gathering.
It feeds 6-8 people, depending on how big a slice you want!
I do find it very rich so I’d say serving 8 would be perfect if you add some ice-cream or custard into the mix.
And if you want a visual reference of how to make this recipe, I’ve uploaded a video right here to help out!
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. I love seeing your bakes!
And please do leave a review to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me.
Gluten Free Sticky Toffee Pudding
This easy gluten free sticky toffee pudding is a really easy dessert which everyone will love. A classic dessert with a rich, warm toffee sauce.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 200g medjool dates (stones removed)
- 250ml boiling water
- 1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract
- 50g unsalted butter (+ extra for greasing)
- 100g dark brown sugar
- 50g caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 200g self-raising gluten free flour
- 1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the sauce:
- 200ml double cream
- 130g unsalted butter
- 150g dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cake:
- Finely chop the dates. Add to a saucepan with the boiling water and the vanilla extract. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes, then remove from the heat. Allow to cool for around 10 minutes before you make the cake batter.
- Preheat the oven to 180’C / Fan 160C / Gas Mark 4. Add the butter and sugars to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the eggs then beat again until combined. Sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda and beat again for another minute. Add the dates and fold in using a spatula until fully combined.
- Grease a 30cm x 20cm dish with the extra butter and pour in the batter. Bake in the centre of the oven for 30-35 minutes until the cake starts to come away from the sides of the dish. Set aside to cool slightly while you make the sauce.
For the sauce:
- Melt the butter, vanilla essence and sugar in a large pan over a low heat, stirring regularly. Once the sugar has dissolved add the cream, bring to the boil and simmer for 1-2 minutes.
- Pour the sauce over the warm cake and serve straight away. Can also be served with extra custard or ice-cream too.
Need some more gluten free dessert inspiration?
Want to have a go at some of the other gluten free dessert recipes on the blog once you’ve made this sticky toffee pudding?
If you do make this recipe please let me know! I’d love to see your photos using #theglutenfreeblogger, share them in my Facebook group or tag me on Instagram.
And if you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments what you’d like to see next!
Like this Gluten Free Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe?
Make sure you pin the recipe card below for later!
I was wondering if I could steam in ramekins/ silicon cupcakes as I thought it may be lighter in texture?
I know I would have to adjust cooking time etc
Thank you for this recipe !
Our daughter made this today to take to her partner’s parents band put mini ones in ramekins for us. Really enjoyed this treat. It was sublime. Thank you both. ,
Hi, I can’t do dairy so wondering what I could substitute for the heavy cream?
You can use elmlea plant based cream, no dairy in it!
This is the best ever. Pudding in my 32 years of being gluten free I’ve never eaten anything so amazingly fantastic. THANK YOU . I FEEL LIKE A NORMAL PERSON WITH REAL FOOD AT LAST
A superb recipe, just delicious. I cut up the pudding into squares and wrapped the leftovers in foil, then distributed the leftover sauce into plastic pudding bowls, one for each square and I can confirm freezing and then serving didn’t diminish the flavour of the dessert. I’ve been requested to make another…yum!