Delia Smith Little Sticky Toffee Puddings Recipe

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If you’ve only ever made sticky toffee pudding as one big tray bake, Delia Smith’s little sticky toffee puddings recipe is worth a detour. Instead of slicing squares from a tin, you turn out individual date sponges, drown them in a pecan toffee sauce and finish them under a hot grill until the tops go dark and crackly.

The original recipe is from The Delia Collection: Puddings. It makes six small puddings and is also listed among Delia’s entertaining and Christmas recipes.

Why You’ll Love This Delia Smith Recipe

This isn’t a recipe you have to talk yourself into. It earns its place through flavour, texture and sheer convenience.

• The sponge stays genuinely light. The batter looks alarmingly wet before baking, but that’s exactly what keeps the crumb soft rather than dense.
• The sauce does double duty. Pouring it over the puddings before grilling means the tops caramelise while the sponge soaks up the toffee underneath.
• Pecans add proper crunch. Toasting under the grill turns them from soft to genuinely crisp, which plain sticky toffee pudding doesn’t offer.
• They freeze brilliantly. Bake, cool, freeze, and the sauce is made fresh in five minutes on the day you serve.
• Portion control without the mess. No cutting neat squares from a hot tin — each pudding is already its own serving.

Sticky toffee puddings ingredients

This version makes 6 individual puddings.

For the puddings

• 130g stoned dates (4.6 oz), finely chopped
• 130ml boiling water (4.6 fl oz)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ teaspoons coffee essence
• ½ level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 55g butter (1.9 oz), softened
• 115g caster sugar (4.1 oz)
• 75g beaten egg (about 1½ large eggs)
• 130g self-raising flour (4.6 oz), sifted

For the pecan toffee sauce

• 20g pecan nuts (0.7 oz), chopped
• 130g soft brown sugar (4.6 oz)
• 85g butter (3 oz)
• 4½ tablespoons double cream

To serve

• Chilled pouring cream or ice cream

Equipment

You will need six small pudding basins or ramekins, lightly oiled, plus a baking tray and a shallow heatproof tray or Swiss-roll-style tin for the final grilling stage.

How to Make Delia Smith Little Sticky Toffee Puddings

1. Soften the dates

Put the chopped dates into a heatproof bowl and pour over the boiling water. Stir in the vanilla extract, coffee essence and bicarbonate of soda.

Leave the mixture to stand while you prepare the cake batter. The dates should soften and the liquid will become darker and fragrant.

2. Make the pudding batter

Beat the softened butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the beaten egg gradually, mixing well after each addition.

Sift the self-raising flour into the bowl and fold it through gently. Avoid vigorous mixing once the flour has been added.

Add the softened dates together with all of their soaking liquid. Fold until evenly combined.

At this stage the mixture will look much looser than a conventional sponge mixture. Do not add extra flour simply to thicken it. The original recipe deliberately uses this loose mixture to produce a light pudding.

3. Fill and bake the puddings

Divide the batter evenly between six lightly oiled pudding basins or ramekins.

Arrange them on a baking tray and bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 25 minutes.

The puddings should be risen and cooked through in the centre. If you test one with a skewer, it should not have uncooked batter clinging to it.

4. Turn out the puddings

Allow the puddings to cool for about five minutes. Carefully loosen the edges with a small palette knife before turning each one out.

If a pudding has developed a very pronounced dome, trim a little from the top so it can sit neatly on the serving plate.

Transfer the individual puddings to a shallow heatproof tray ready for the sauce and grilling stage.

5. Make the pecan toffee sauce

Place the chopped pecans, soft brown sugar, butter and double cream in a saucepan.

Warm the mixture gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Avoid unnecessarily high heat; the aim is to create a smooth, glossy sauce rather than aggressively boil it.

6. Sauce and grill before serving

Heat the grill to its highest setting. Pour the warm sauce over the puddings, distributing the pecans as evenly as possible.

Place the tray under the grill with the tops of the puddings approximately 13cm (5 inches) from the heat. Grill for around 8 minutes, watching carefully.

The sauce should be hot and bubbling and the tops should become lightly browned and slightly crisp. Serve immediately with chilled pouring cream or ice cream.

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Tips for Getting the Texture Right

The most important thing when making this recipe is not to “correct” the batter after adding the dates.

It will look surprisingly slack. That is expected because the boiling water used to soften the dates becomes part of the mixture. Adding extra flour at this point can make the finished puddings heavier.

A few other details make a difference:

• Soften the butter first: Cold butter will not cream smoothly with the sugar.
• Add the egg gradually: This helps maintain the light texture of the mixture.
• Fold rather than beat the flour: Overworking the flour can produce a denser result.
• Use all the date liquid: It contributes to the moisture and consistency of the pudding.
• Watch the grill closely: The final stage is about heating and browning, not giving the puddings another long bake.
• Keep the sauce gentle: Brown sugar and dairy can catch if heated too aggressively.

The original recipe also advises taking care with the pecans during grilling so that they do not become excessively browned.

What to Serve With Sticky Toffee Puddings

These puddings are rich enough that the best accompaniment is something simple.

Chilled pouring cream is the most straightforward choice. It adds coolness without introducing another strong flavour.

Vanilla ice cream is another excellent option, particularly if you like the contrast between a hot pudding and cold ice cream.

For a Christmas dinner, the individual format also makes the dessert easy to serve after a substantial main course. That is one reason this recipe works particularly well as a festive or dinner-party pudding.

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For a smaller gathering, these mini sticky toffee puddings are also easier to serve than one large pudding that needs to be divided at the table.

If you enjoy traditional British puddings, you may also like this rhubarb crumble or the comforting apple crumble. Both make good alternatives when you’re after a classic fruit-based dessert.

Can You Make These Puddings Ahead?

Yes. This is one of the useful features of the recipe.

The original Delia Smith version specifically notes that the puddings freeze well and can be reheated. The guidance recommends defrosting them before reheating and serving them with the hot sauce.

For entertaining, you can therefore prepare the individual puddings in advance rather than trying to make the entire dessert immediately after dinner.

The sauce is best handled separately and heated gently before the final grilling stage. The cream or ice cream should be added only when the puddings are ready to serve.

Storage and Reheating

If you are freezing the puddings, remove them from their basins once they have cooled. Wrapping individual puddings before placing them together in a freezer bag.

Defrost them safely before reheating. For the final reheating method, the original guidance uses the grill with the sauce poured over the puddings. This also recreates the lightly browned top that makes the dessert distinctive.

Do not leave cooked puddings at room temperature for prolonged periods. Refrigerate leftovers promptly in a suitable covered container and reheat thoroughly when required.

Are These Good for Preparing Ahead?

They are particularly convenient for dinner-party preparation because the puddings can be portioned individually and frozen.

That means you can have the cake component ready before guests arrive and concentrate on the sauce and final presentation closer to serving.

For the best texture, avoid repeatedly reheating the same pudding. Portioning them individually also makes it easier to heat only what you need.

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Delia’s More Recipes You can Try:

•  All-in-One Victoria Sponge
• Chocolate Brownies
• Fatless Sponge

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Adding extra flour to the loose batter

This is probably the easiest mistake to make. The mixture becomes very slack after the date liquid is added, but this is expected. Extra flour can make the finished puddings unnecessarily heavy.

Overmixing after adding the flour

Fold the flour in gently and stop once it is incorporated. A light hand helps preserve the delicate texture.

Overheating the sauce

The sauce only needs gentle heating to melt the butter and dissolve the sugar. Excessive heat can cause the mixture to catch or become less smooth.

Putting the puddings too close to the grill

The final stage should brown and heat the dessert without scorching the nuts. Keep the puddings at the recommended distance and watch them closely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make Delia‘s sticky toffee pudding ahead of time?

Yes. The individual puddings can be prepared ahead, and the original recipe specifically notes that they freeze well. Defrost before reheating and finish with the hot sauce.

Can I freeze these little sticky toffee puddings?

Yes. The original recipe recommends freezing the puddings individually after removing them from their basins. Wrap them separately and place them in a freezer bag.

Why is my pudding mixture so runny?

The date mixture includes the liquid used to soften the dates, so the finished batter is intentionally loose. Do not automatically add more flour. The original recipe notes that this consistency helps produce a light pudding.

Can I use gluten-free flour for sticky toffee pudding?

Yes, gluten-free self-raising flour may work, but the recipe had not been tested with that substitution by the team.

Can I make this as one large sticky toffee pudding?

This recipe is specifically designed around individual puddings, so changing the size would also change the baking time and cooking behaviour. For the most reliable result, keep the individual format.

What makes this different from a standard sticky date pudding?

The date-based sponge is similar in concept, but this version has a particularly rich pecan toffee sauce and is finished under the grill. The individual portions also make it especially suited to entertaining.

Approximate Nutrition

The following is an estimate for one of the six puddings with its share of the sauce, before adding optional extra cream or ice cream. Actual values will vary with the exact ingredients and portion sizes.

• Calories: approximately 600 kcal
• Protein: approximately 7g
• Carbohydrates: approximately 82g
• Fat: approximately 29g
• Fibre: approximately 4g
• Sugar: approximately 58g
• Salt: approximately 0.5g

Because the recipe contains substantial amounts of butter, sugar, dates and cream, the nutrition is naturally on the richer side. Treat these figures as an estimate rather than laboratory-tested nutritional information.

Final Thoughts

Delia Smith little sticky toffee pudding is a useful dessert to keep in your repertoire when you want something warm, rich and distinctly comforting without complicated decoration.

The key is to trust the recipe’s loose date batter, handle the flour gently and give the finished puddings enough time beneath the grill to become hot, glossy and lightly browned.