Mary Berry Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe

If you asked me to name the single greatest British dessert, sticky toffee pudding would be my answer without a moment’s hesitation. It is one of those dishes that is so deeply, completely satisfying that eating it feels almost like a physical relief — warmth spreading from the inside out, the richness of the toffee sauce coating every bite of that soft, date-studded sponge.

Mary Berry’s sticky toffee pudding is the definitive version. The sponge is moist and deeply flavoured — dates soaked in boiling water and bicarbonate of soda give it that characteristic dark, sticky, intensely sweet crumb that makes sticky toffee pudding unlike any other dessert.

The toffee sauce — butter, cream, and dark brown sugar cooked together until it turns a deep, glossy amber — is poured over the pudding twice. Once when it comes out of the oven. Again when you serve it, warm and flowing over the top.

This is the pudding I make every Christmas and every time someone needs the kind of comfort that only food can provide. Once you make it, you will understand completely why it has become one of Britain’s most beloved desserts.

What Makes This Sticky Toffee Pudding So Special?

Dates soaked in boiling water with bicarbonate of soda. The bicarbonate of soda reacts with the dates and the boiling water, breaking them down almost completely and darkening the mixture to a deep, rich colour. This is what gives sticky toffee pudding its characteristic moist, dense, intensely flavoured crumb. Skip the bicarbonate and you lose something essential.

The toffee sauce is poured on twice. Once while the pudding is still warm from the oven — it soaks into the top of the sponge, making it even more moist and sticky. Again when serving — warm, flowing, generous. Two pourings is the right answer.

Dark brown sugar throughout. Both the pudding and the sauce use dark brown sugar, which has a deep molasses flavour that is essential to the character of this dessert. Light brown sugar gives a much flatter, less interesting result.

Ingredients for Mary Berry Sticky Toffee Pudding

For the Date Sponge

• 175g pitted dates, roughly chopped
• 250ml boiling water
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 75g unsalted butter, softened
• 175g soft dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 175g self-raising flour, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

For the Toffee Sauce

• 150g unsalted butter
• 150g soft dark brown sugar
• 150ml double cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of flaky sea salt

To Serve

• Vanilla ice cream, clotted cream, or pouring cream

How to Make Mary Berry Sticky Toffee Pudding — Step by Step

Step 1 — Soak the Dates

Place the roughly chopped dates and bicarbonate of soda into a heatproof bowl. Pour over the boiling water, stir briefly, and leave to soak for 20 to 30 minutes. The dates will soften completely and the mixture will turn dark and almost purée-like. The bicarbonate reacts with the dates during soaking — this is what gives the pudding its characteristic colour and texture. Do not rush this step.

Step 2 — Preheat and Prepare

Preheat your oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas 4. Grease a 30x20cm traybake tin or a deep 23cm round tin generously with butter and line with baking parchment. The pudding can also be made in individual pudding moulds — see the FAQs for timing.

Step 3 — Make the Sponge Batter

Beat the softened butter and dark brown sugar together with an electric hand whisk for three to four minutes until as light and fluffy as the dark sugar will allow — it will not go as pale as a standard sponge batter but it should increase in volume and become slightly lighter.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add the vanilla extract and beat briefly.

Sift the flour and salt into the bowl. Fold gently until just combined.

Add the entire date mixture — including all the soaking liquid — and fold through until fully incorporated. The batter will be quite loose and very dark. This is exactly correct.

Step 4 — Bake

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and spread evenly. Bake on the middle shelf for 30 to 35 minutes until the sponge is risen, firm to the touch, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Step 5 — Make the Toffee Sauce

While the pudding bakes, make the toffee sauce. Place the butter, dark brown sugar, and double cream into a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for three to four minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly and turns a deep, glossy amber colour. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract and sea salt. Stir briefly. The sauce will thicken further as it cools.

Step 6 — Pour the First Sauce Over the Hot Pudding

The moment the pudding comes out of the oven, pour roughly half the toffee sauce evenly over the surface of the hot pudding while it is still in the tin. The hot sponge absorbs the sauce immediately — you will see it disappear into the surface, making the pudding even more moist and intensely flavoured.

Leave for five minutes, then serve directly from the tin — or leave to cool and reheat when needed.

Step 7 — Serve With the Remaining Sauce

Reheat the remaining sauce gently in a small saucepan over a low heat until warm and flowing. Cut the pudding into squares and serve each portion with a generous pour of warm toffee sauce over the top. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a spoonful of clotted cream, or a pour of cold pouring cream alongside.

My Top Tips for Perfect Sticky Toffee Pudding

Soak the dates properly — do not rush it. Twenty to thirty minutes in boiling water with the bicarbonate is the minimum. The dates need to soften completely and the mixture needs time to cool slightly before going into the batter. Rushed dates give you chunks of date in the sponge rather than that characteristic moist, evenly distributed date flavour throughout.

Add all the soaking liquid. Every drop. It looks like a lot and the batter will seem very loose. This is correct. The soaking liquid is packed with flavour and is essential to the moist texture of the finished pudding.

Use dark brown sugar, not light. Dark brown sugar has a significantly more pronounced molasses flavour that is central to the character of sticky toffee pudding. Light brown sugar gives a flatter, less interesting result. Dark brown only.

Add sea salt to the toffee sauce. Salted toffee sauce is one of the great things in British puddings. The salt heightens the caramel flavour, cuts through the richness, and adds a complexity that makes the sauce genuinely addictive. Do not skip it.

Pour the first sauce over the pudding while it is still hot. The hot sponge absorbs the sauce in a way that a cool sponge cannot. This first pour is what makes the pudding sticky rather than just moist. Do it immediately.

This pudding is better made ahead. Sticky toffee pudding reheats beautifully and is actually better the next day — the flavours deepen and the pudding becomes even more moist as it sits. Make it the day before, refrigerate, and reheat in a low oven (160°C for 15 to 20 minutes) when needed.

Serving Suggestions

Warm from the oven with vanilla ice cream — the contrast of the warm, sticky pudding and the cold, slowly melting ice cream is one of the great dessert experiences. With clotted cream for something more indulgent. With pouring cream for something slightly lighter. Always warm — always with the second pour of toffee sauce over the top.

How to Store Mary Berry Sticky Toffee Pudding

In the fridge: Store the pudding and remaining toffee sauce separately in airtight containers for up to 4 days. Reheat the pudding in a low oven (160°C for 15 to 20 minutes) and warm the sauce gently in a small saucepan.

In the freezer: Freeze the pudding and sauce separately for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.

Mary Berry Sticky Toffee Pudding

Mary Berry's sticky toffee pudding is deeply rich, wonderfully moist, and smothered in the most indulgent toffee sauce.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings: 12 Portions

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Calories: 420

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• Date Sponge:
• 175 g pitted dates roughly chopped
• 250 ml boiling water
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 75 g unsalted butter softened
• 175 g soft dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 175 g self-raising flour sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• Toffee Sauce:
• 150 g unsalted butter
• 150 g soft dark brown sugar
• 150 ml double cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of flaky sea salt
• To Serve:
• Vanilla ice cream clotted cream, or pouring cream

CHECK THIS RECIPE  Mary Berry Trifle Recipe

Method

 

1. Place chopped dates and bicarbonate of soda in a heatproof bowl. Pour over boiling water. Stir and leave to soak for 20–30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas 4. Grease and line a 30x20cm tin.
3. Beat butter and dark brown sugar for 3–4 minutes until slightly lighter and increased in volume. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Add vanilla.
4. Sift in flour and salt. Fold gently until just combined. Add entire date mixture including all liquid. Fold until fully incorporated. Batter will be loose and dark — this is correct.
5. Pour into tin. Bake 30–35 minutes until risen and a skewer comes out clean.
6. Meanwhile make toffee sauce: melt butter, dark brown sugar, and cream together. Simmer for 3–4 minutes until slightly thickened. Add vanilla and sea salt.
7. Pour half the sauce over the hot pudding immediately out of the oven. Leave 5 minutes. Serve in squares with remaining warm sauce poured over and ice cream alongside.

Notes

Soak dates for the full 20–30 minutes — do not rush this step.

Add all the soaking liquid to the batter — every drop.

Use dark brown sugar throughout — not light brown.

Pour the first toffee sauce over the hot pudding immediately out of the oven.

Add sea salt to the toffee sauce — it makes a significant difference.

This pudding is better made the day before — the flavour deepens beautifully overnight.

Store pudding and sauce separately in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mary Berry Sticky Toffee Pudding

Can I make sticky toffee pudding in individual pudding moulds?

Yes — grease individual pudding moulds well and fill two-thirds full. Bake at the same temperature for 20 to 25 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Turn out onto plates and pour the first sauce over immediately. Individual puddings look spectacular served at a dinner party.

Can I make sticky toffee pudding without dates?

Dates are not optional — they are what makes sticky toffee pudding what it is. Without them you have a dark sponge with toffee sauce, which is pleasant, but it is not sticky toffee pudding. The dates give the sponge its characteristic moist, sticky, intensely flavoured crumb.

Why is my sticky toffee pudding dry?

Either the dates were not soaked long enough, the soaking liquid was drained rather than added to the batter, or the pudding was overbaked. Make sure you add all the soaking liquid and check the pudding at the 30-minute mark.

Can I use Medjool dates instead of regular dried dates?

Yes — Medjool dates are softer, stickier, and more intensely flavoured than regular dried dates. They need slightly less soaking time — 15 minutes is enough. The finished pudding will be even richer and more deeply flavoured.

Can I make the toffee sauce in advance?

Yes — the sauce keeps in the fridge in an airtight jar for up to 2 weeks. Reheat gently in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring until smooth and warm. It may thicken in the fridge — add a splash of cream and stir to loosen.

Can I make this gluten-free?

Yes — substitute the self-raising flour with a good gluten-free self-raising flour blend. The result is almost indistinguishable from the standard version. Make sure all other ingredients are certified gluten-free.