Dairy-free sticky toffee ginger puddings

To hear Mary Berry saying this dessert is “to die for” is still one of the best moments in my life! This is my dairy-free adaptation of the sticky toffee ginger pudding I made in the final of Britain’s Best Home Cook.

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I am asked to make this dessert so often and it is always a thrill to return to it.

I was fortunate to have my original recipe for this dessert published in the Britain’s Best Home Cook cookery book, but I have adapted it to make it dairy-free so that the guests at a dinner party I was giving could eat it.

Dairy-free sticky toffee ginger pudding

I often make this gluten-free as well, using a good quality gluten-free flour.

Coconut cream (the thick sort you get in cartons) is sublime and when mixed with lime juice and perhaps  a splash of rum;

Flavoured coconut cream really comes into its own as a star accompaniment to all manner of desserts – rather than a sad after-thought!

Dairy-free sticky toffee ginger pudding

Getting ahead

These puddings can be made a few days in advance, ready to pop into the oven just before ready to serve.

They can also be frozen once baked and cooled, either with or without the sauce: just defrost them fully before heating them up for about 10-15 minutes.

Recipe: dairy-free sticky toffee & ginger pudding – serves 10

Dairy-free sticky toffee ginger pudding

Cake:

• 60ml vegetable oil
• 170g soft dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons black treacle
• 2 large free-range eggs, at room temperature
• 200g self-raising flour or gluten-free flour
• 1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 level tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
• 200g stoned dates, finely chopped
• 6 pieces of stem ginger from a jar
• 280ml boiling water

For the sauce:

• 200ml coconut cream
• 60g dark soft brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon black treacle
• 3 tablespoons stem ginger syrup (from the jar)
• a generous splash of rum, brandy or whisky…. optional!

To serve:

• about 300ml coconut cream
• juice of 1 lime
• freshly grated lime zest
• a splash of rum, optional
• chopped pistachios

(1) Pre-heat the oven to 180C (fan). Grease 10 small ramekins or dariole moulds and pop a square of greaseproof into the bases. Place them on a large baking tray.

(2) Add the boiling water to the dates and add the stem ginger. Blitz in a food processor (or use a hand-held liquidiser stick) for a few seconds to give a fairly coarse paste. Leave to cool.

(3) Sieve the flour, cinnamon, ginger and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Add the rest of the cake ingredients into a large bowl, along with the dates and water mixture, and mix well until you get a smooth batter.

(4) Spoon into the ramekins, coming to just over half-way up and bake for about 20 minutes or until well risen and springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin.

(5) For the sauce, put all the ingredients into a small pan, apart from the alcohol (if using), and slowly bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for about 5 minutes on a low heat. If using alcohol, stir it into the hot sauce.

(6) Remove the cake from the tin and peel off the greaseproof squares. Put about a tablespoon of the sauce into the bottom of ramekins and place the sponges on top, patting it lightly into the sauce. Pour over another tablespoon or so of the sauce. Cover loosely with foil.

NB: the puddings are now ready to re-heat or to chill/freeze for later.

(7) When you are almost ready to eat, place the puddings (with the foil still on) into an oven pre-heated to 160C(fan) for about 15 minutes until bubbling all over.

(8) Serve hot with coconut cream mixed with enough lime juice to taste (it can go as tangy as you like it), splash of rum with grated lime zest on top. I often like to sprinkle over a few chopped pistachios.

Dairy-free sticky toffee ginger pudding

Author: Philip

Finalist on Britain’s Best Home Cook (BBC Television 2018). Published recipe writer with a love of growing fruit & veg, cooking, teaching and eating good food. View all posts by Philip