This recipe is one I am beyond excited for you to make and try 🥰! I did this dish as an initial recipe trial and let me tell you – I cannot believe how authentic and close to the “real” thing this Vegan Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding turned out. I mean, this version is completely dairy-free and gluten-free!! No worries though, it is still super moist, ooey, gooey, and sticky.
For anyone unfamiliar with it, Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding is a dessert commonly served in Britain. It consists of a super-moist sponge that has finely chopped (or in this instance blended) dates in it. This dessert is oftentimes served alongside a sticky toffee pudding sauce, some whipped cream, and/or some vanilla ice cream. It is definitely a richer kind of dessert if you have never tried it before. You know, the kind where you should definitely leave a bit of room for dessert after dinner 😂.
I am not going to lie, this recipe is one of the sweetest ones you will find on the blog (possibly the sweetest, along with this awesome Mousse au Chocolate). Whereas I did use coconut sugar instead of industrialized sugar, the amount is high in this dish. Coupled with the dates that provide part of the stickiness in this Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding, it is definitely a sweet affair 😉. I promise though, it is 100% delicious and certainly a bit of a healthier version than the original recipe.
Why is this Vegan Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding good for you?
The ingredients I am using in this recipe have been discussed quite a bit in recent times on the blog. For example, the main type of gluten-free flour used here is sorghum. You can learn more about that in my Very Coconutty and Lime Naked Cake recipe. You can also learn a bit more about coconut sugar in my Crunchy Ginger Cookies post. So for today, I thought I would cover black treacle, as it is something I tend to work less with here on the blog.
Black Treacle
Also called molasses, black treacle is a thick, dark syrup. It is actually the by-product of making sugar from sugar canes or beets. To make sugar, first, the sugar cane is crushed to extract the juice. Then, the juice is boiled down, which will form the sugar crystals. Black treacle is essentially what is left after the juice has been boiled and the sugar crystals have been removed. If you have never tasted black treacle before, it tastes quite earthy and has very much a less-sweet taste than industrialized sugar.
Albeit technically still a form of sugar, black treacle contains some nutrients that may be beneficial for your health. For example, it contains iron, selenium, copper, and calcium, which are all associated with healthy bones. It also contains a decent amount of potassium, which is important for our heart health. In initial animal studies, the potassium of black treacle has found to raise “good” cholesterol levels in the body. However, it needs to be stressed that the same effect has not been tested on humans yet. In addition to these nutrients, black treacle may also contain an array of antioxidants which are beneficial in order to combat oxidative stress.
How can I prep this recipe in advance
There are several, awesome options on how you can prep this recipe in advance. As a first step, you could already soak the dates, cashews, make the chia egg, and prep the flour mixture. You could also make the complete dough and already fill it in the form. This should be good for about 8 hours before they actually need to be baked. As an alternative, you can already make the sauce and only heat it up when needed.
How can I adjust this recipe to my dietary requirements?
This recipe is gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan. Due to the high sugar content of the recipe, it is not suitable for the paleo lifestyle. As there are cashews in the sauce, this recipe is, sadly not nut-free either.
Making the chia egg Soaking dates Soaking cashews Making the flour mix Dates and non-dairy milk in a blender Dates and non-dairy milk blended Date mixture, chia egg, blended coconut sugar, and melted coconut oil in a bowl Wet ingredients mixed before adding black treacle Wet ingredients fully mixed Adding flour mixture to wet ingredients Mixing process of Vegan Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding Vegan Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding dough mixed through Vegan Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding dough filled in muffin form Vegan Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding dough covered in tin foil, in a water bath Vegan Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding sauce ingredients in a pot Vegan Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding sauce heating up Vegan Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding sauce with black treacle and and cashew milk mixed under Final Vegan Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding sauce
And there you have it for this week 🤗. I hope you enjoy this insanely delicious dessert recipe, and get a chance to re-create this British classic. Please let me know how you are liking the recipe both in the comments below and over on Instagram 🙌🏻. Happy baking!!
Vegan Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding
Course: DessertCuisine: British, gluten-free, veganDifficulty: Medium8
servings30
minutes55
minutes2
hoursThis Vegan Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding is completely gluten- and dairy-free, yet fully encompasses that gooey texture we all love!
Ingredients
- Flour mixture
175 gr. Sorghum Flour, plus a little bit more for greasing the muffin cups
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground vanilla
- Chia eggs
2 tbsp chia seeds
6 tbsp lukewarm water
- Wet ingredients
225 gr. dates
85 gr. coconut oil and a bit more for greasing the muffin cups
120 gr. coconut sugar
½ cup (125 ml.) oat milk
2 tbsp black treacle
- Sauce ingredients
½ cup (75 gr.) cashews
1 cup non-dairy milk
2 tbsp coconut oil
120 gr. coconut sugar
1 tbsp black treacle
How to
- There are few things you need to prep in advance before you are starting to bake: Soak the dates in boiling water so that they become soft. In a separate bowl, soak the cashews for either 6 – 8 hours or 2 in boiling water
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) on a fan setting. Grease 8 – 9 muffin tins with coconut oil and a bit of gluten-free flour (if you are using porcelain, or bigger forms that is fine – but the timing in the oven will likely vary and you may not get as many servings out of it)
- Make the chia eggs by blending the chia seeds and adding them to the bowl along with the 6 tbsp of warm water. Mix well and put aside whilst you are prepping the other ingredients
- Prepare the flour mixture by mixing the sorghum flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground vanilla in a bowl. Set aside
- Prepare the wet ingredients. Add the coconut oil to a small pot and put it on low heat on the stove, so that it melts. Whilst the coconut oil is melting, blend the coconut sugar in a small blender and blend. Put into a bowl. Add the soaked dates and oat milk to a small blender (can be the same one) and blend until well incorporated. Add to the coconut sugar along with the chia eggs and coconut oil. With a mixer, mix until the ingredients are well incorporated and fluffy. Add the two tablespoons of black treacle and incorporate. As the last step, add the flour mixture and mix well. The mixture should be slightly sticky but manageable to continue working with. Fill into the prepared muffin forms and cover with tin foil
- Transfer to the oven on a large baking tray and add water to the bottom. These puddings need to be baked in a water bath (it makes sense to do this when transferred to the oven… I always spill an immense amount of water when doing it on the kitchen aisle and then transferring to the oven….). Bake covered for ca. 45 minutes and then another 10 minutes without the tin foil on. As said, if you are using bigger forms, the timing will likely vary. The puddings are done, when they have risen and are slightly firm to the touch
- Make the sauce
- Whilst the puddings are baking, make the sauce. Drain the cashews and blend with the non-dairy milk. Again, blend the coconut sugar in a small blender and add to a small pot alongside the coconut oil and half of the cashew-milk mixture. Stir rather frequently as else there is a good chance this may burn. Add the black treacle and remainder and watch the sauce turn dark in color. Immediately take off the heat and mix in the remaining cashew-milk. Serve alongside the puddings and ENJOY!!!
