This glorious vegan version of the classic British Dessert, Sticky Toffee Pudding is perfect for Sunday Lunch, or even as a yummy alternative to Christmas Pudding. Full of cozy caramel flavors and packed with dates, the soft sponge and goeey toffee sauce is a favourite for a reason!
It's funny, I always thought that this dessert was called Sticky Date Pudding, because that's what it's known as in Australia and New Zealand. It wasn't until I moved to the UK that I realised that it's the same as Sticky Toffee Pudding. Whatever you call it, it's delicious and perfect for a winter dessert.
Whether you choose to spice up this pudding for a Christmas version, or leave in it's classic glory, you'll love this vegan recipe. If you're looking for a much more classic festive dessert you can't go past this Vegan Christmas Cake for rich fruity flavours. Or if cookies are more your thing, try out these Vegan Lebkuchen (Gingerbread Cookies)
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🍮Ingredients
For the full list of ingredients and their weights/quantities head to the recipe card.
For the Date Pudding
- Medjool Dates: Sticky and gooey, these dates are a treat in themselves. Make sure to remove their seeds before chopping.
- Brown Sugar: I like soft light brown sugar, for a lighter sponge. Some people prefer to use dark brown sugar or even add black treacle.
- Vegan Butter: I like Flora or Naturali butter (UK). In Australia choose Nuttelex, or USA try Country Crock vegan butter. You can also use solid coconut oil.
- Plant-Based Milk: I like oat milk for preference however almond milk or soy milk will also work well.
- Plain/AP flour: Ordinary plain flour used for baking.
- Vanilla Extract: Choose the best quality you can afford.
- Baking Powder: this gives the pudding lift and rise for that distinctive fluffy texture. Be sure to choose baking POWDER as this has the active ingredients that give the rise. Baking soda/Bicarbonate of soda needs an acid to rise and won't work.
- Pinch Sea Salt: to balance the sweetness.
- Cinnamon and optional Mixed Spice/Ground Ginger (see notes below): You can choose to go heavy on the spices for a more festive pudding, or just add some cinnamon.
For the Sticky Toffee Sauce
- Coconut Cream: This creates the oozy, glossy toffee sauce in place of heavy cream. If you can't find coconut cream, choose full fat coconut milk and put it in the fridge for 20 minutes, then just use the coconut 'fat' that separates.
- Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar works best for a caramelly flavour.
- Vegan Butter: A little touch of vegan butter is optional, but ensures a lovely glossy sauce.
NB: This recipe is completely EGG FREE! It doesn't even have vegan egg replacers in it, instead the dates and sugar combine with the baking powder and make some kind of magic, resulting in a light and fluffy eggless sticky toffee pudding!
See recipe card for quantities.
👩🍳Instructions
Follow along with these how-to photos for the perfect Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding.
1 Chop the dates, making sure you remove all their seed inside. (You could use the food processor for this, but I think chopping is fine)
2. Add the chopped dates, plant-milk, brown sugar, vanilla and butter to a small saucepan and gently heat.
3. The date mixture is ready when the dates are almost dissolved. Use the back of a spoon to help them.
4. In a large mixing bowl mix together all the dry ingredients.
5. Add the date mixture to the dry ingredients.
6. Mix well so there are no lumps of flour but do not overmix.
7. Grease your pudding tins really well.
8. Add the date pudding batter to the tins and bake.
9. While the date puddings bake, make the sticky toffee sauce. Add the coconut cream and brown sugar to a saucepan. Melt the brown sugar and simmer over a medium heat. A pinch of salt will balance the sweetness.
10. Finally stir in some vegan butter into the sauce ingredients for an extra glossy sauce.
Serve the Vegan Sticky Toffee Puddings with vanilla ice cream and plenty of extra sticky toffee caramel sauce!
Hint: Make double of the rich toffee sauce and keep some to pour on Ice cream or drizzle over cakes for another day.
🌰Substitutions & Variations
Here are some common alternatives you can use to make this Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe.
- Gluten Free: You can use oat flour or regular gluten free flours. It might be a little more dense and crumbly but should still taste delicious.
- Coconut Sugar: Replace the brown sugar with coconut sugar if you want to avoid cane sugar. You could also use Maple Syrup and Maple Sugar.
- Add Autumn fruit such as Pears (with ginger!) or Apples (with cinnamon!) to the batter or arranged at the bottom of the tin, for a lovely twist on the original recipe.
- No Coconut: Use Soy Cream or Oat Cream to make the rich toffee sauce.
🔪Equipment
You'll need a small saucepan to cook the sticky toffee sauce as well as the date mixture. To bake the pudding itself you can choose from several options: All will work fine, however you will need to adjust the timing for baking.
- Large 1 Litre Pudding Basin: Bake time is 35 minutes
- Mini Pudding Bowls x 8 : Bake time is 12-14 minutes.
- Muffin Tin - 12 hole (you will be able to fill around 10 muffin holes) Bake time is 12-14 minutes.
- Square Tin 9" / 25cm square Bake time is 18-20 minutes.
🥫Storage
Store pre-baked puddings without their sauce in an airtight container and reheat as needed. The sauce can be also stored in a sealed container. Both need to be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days or pop in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat the puddings from frozen in the microwave or in the oven, and the sauce in a small pan or in the microwave.
❗Top tip
The puddings are ready when they are springy to the touch and you can cleanly insert a skewer into them. If you want to make one large pudding instead of individual puddings, the cooking time will be longer so keep an eye on the baking times.
❓FAQ
Usually sticky toffee pudding is not vegan as it contains eggs and dairy. However it is easy to make vegan sticky toffee pudding that is both egg free and dairy free.
They are the same thing! In New Zealand and Australia this yummy dessert is call Sticky Date Pudding, while in the UK it's called Sticky Toffee Pudding.
More Christmas Baking?
Why not try these other cozy Festive Recipes!
Love Vegan Desserts?
Try some of these other twists on classic dessert recipes.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding (Sticky Date Pudding)
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
For the pudding mix
- 200 g (1 ⅓ cups) pitted medjool dates
- 115 g (4 oz) plant based butter (plus extra for greasing the pudding basin (around 1 stick butter) )
- 360 ml (1 ½ cups) any non-dairy milk (bit less than ½ cup)
- 100 g (½ cups) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 180 g (1 3/7 cups) All Purpose/Plain Flour
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
For the Toffee Sauce (double the ingredients for extra moisture and sauce!)
- 100 g (½ cups) brown sugar
- 400 ml (1 ⅔ cups) coconut cream
- 50 g plant based butter
Instructions
For the Pudding Mix
- Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
- Grease 8 mini pudding tins with plant butter (be sure to do this well so the pudding doesn't stick)
- Chop the dates into 1 cm pieces, be sure to remove any seeds.200 g pitted medjool dates
- Put the dates in a saucepan with the plant milk and bring to a simmer115 g plant based butter
- Add the butter, vanilla and brown sugar and simmer until the dates break up (about 5 minutes). You can help them break up with the back of a wooden spoon.360 ml any non-dairy milk (bit less than ½ cup), 100 g brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt180 g All Purpose/Plain Flour, 1 teaspoon mixed spice, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 3 teaspoon baking powder
- Add the date mixture from the saucepan and mix it thoroughly.
- Put the pudding batter into the pudding basin and cover with foil.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Before taking the puddings out out, check it has cooked through using a skewer. Cook for longer if needed. The skewer should come out pretty much clean.
- Serve hot with the toffee sauce
For the Toffee Sauce
- Place sugar and coconut cream in a heavy-based saucepan. Stirring or whisking continuously, bring to the boil on a medium heat. Once boiled, turn down the heat.100 g brown sugar, 400 ml coconut cream
- Let the sugar and coconut milk thicken on this low heat, stirring or whisking as much as possible. This may take around 10-15 minutes. It will be ready when it is a caramel consistency.
- Add the plant based butter and stir until melted in- this is optional, but creates an extra glossy sauce.50 g plant based butter
Notes
🌰Substitutions & Variations
Here are some common alternatives you can use to make this Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe.- Gluten Free: You can use oat flour or regular gluten free flours. It might be a little more dense and crumbly but should still taste delicious.
- Coconut Sugar: Replace the brown sugar with coconut sugar if you want to avoid cane sugar. You could also use Maple Syrup and Maple Sugar.
- Add Autumn fruit such as Pears (with ginger!) or Apples (with cinnamon!) to the batter or arranged at the bottom of the tin, for a lovely twist on the original recipe.
- No Coconut: Use Soy Cream or Oat Cream to make the rich toffee sauce.
- Large 1 Litre Pudding Basin: Bake time is 40 minutes.
- Mini Pudding Bowls x 8 : Bake time is 12-14 minutes.
- Muffin Tin - 12 hole (you will be able to fill around 10 muffin holes) Bake time is 12-14 minutes.
- Square Tin 9" / 25cm square Bake time is 18-20 minutes.
