While staying at the amazing Novotel in Vizag, I was exposed to sticky toffee pudding for the first time. I usually don't like dates, which are a central feature in this dessert, but I was amazed at how much I enjoyed this cake. It was rich and flavorful while being relatively light at the same time – almost a nice in-between a chocolate dessert and a vanilla/fruit dessert. The dates were also so finely chopped that the texture of the dessert was quite smooth as well.
When I returned to the U.S., I looked up several recipes to make this British dessert. I ended up settling on the Gourmet magazine version because it seemed the simplest to assemble and did not require using all of the toffee sauce. When I read the ingredients for the toffee sauce – basically insane amounts of heavy cream, butter and sugar – I decided to not actually use all of the sauce in the dish, rather just serve it on the side.
Apart from some self-inflicted mishaps, the recipe was pretty easy to follow. I followed the reader suggestions on the website, and added some additional spices to the dish – nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves – and baked the dish for 65 minutes for the cake to fully cook. I also used slightly smaller proportions of the ingredients for the toffee sauce and cooked the sauce for 8 minutes, which seemed when the sauce may been done (couldn't tell if it had "thickened slightly").
I definitely produced way more pudding than could be consumed by 2 people though, so I have to admit it became a bit of a chore to eat it as the days went on (though with the rich toffee sauce, not THAT much of a chore). I would highly recommend this dish for a get together of 8 – 10 people, and during a winter event like Christmas or a holiday party, where the dish would fit in wonderfully.
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