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.
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!!