This Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding is a super comforting dessert: a moist, caramel-flavoured sponge covered in a thick, indulgent toffee sauce. It's easy to make, and perfect for Christmas and the winter season! This version is gluten-free and refined sugar free too, and not as sickly-sweet as the traditional version!
What is sticky toffee pudding?
Sticky Toffee Pudding is a popular British dessert consisting of a dark, dense, date-studded sponge, covered in a thick, dark toffee sauce. It's usually served with vanilla ice cream or custard.
How do you make vegan sticky toffee pudding?
The secret to a great vegan sticky toffee pudding is making a good toffee sauce! I tried various different ways to make it, and the best version of all the ones I tested is one that uses smooth cashew butter, which adds a rich, creamy flavour without any dairy products. You can replace the cashew butter with any other smooth nut butter or coconut butter.
How do you make refined sugar free sticky toffee pudding?
Sticky toffee pudding traditionally uses a lot of refined sugars, but this recipe is refined sugar free, so I've used dates and coconut sugar as sweeteners. Coconut sugar adds a deep, caramel-like flavour without making the pudding too sickly-sweet.
How to make the sticky toffee pudding
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Place the chopped dates into a bowl and pour over boiling hot water.
- Leave to soak for 15 minutes, while assembling the rest of the ingredients.
- Use a fork to gently mash the soaked dates until you get a rough paste.
- Mix together with all the other ingredients for the sponge in a mixing bowl.
Tip: Use a measuring jug to measure out the plant-based milk.
- Transfer into a baking dish - I used one measuring 26 cm (10 inch) by 18 cm (7 inch) and 7 cm (2 ½ inch) tall.
- Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes, until risen and golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Tips for making the toffee sauce
- Heat gently on a low heat, mixing well to get rid of any clumps of nut butter - you can use a whisk to do this.
- Keep stirring while you heat the sauce, and cook until it starts to bubble gently.
- Be careful to not let it burn!
How to make the toffee sauce
- While the pudding is baking in the oven, make the toffee sauce - place all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently on a low heat, making sure it's mixed well.
- Pour some of the sauce over the pudding as soon as it's out of the oven - it will absorb better while it's still hot.
- Keep the rest for pouring over extra toffee sauce when serving.
- Best enjoyed immediately!
How to serve Sticky Toffee Pudding
- Pour over extra toffee sauce to serve.
- It tastes especially good with some vegan vanilla ice cream or custard!
Substitutions you can make
- You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, vegetable oil, olive oil etc.
- The coconut sugar can be replaced with normal sugar, or any other type of sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
- You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, cashew milk, rice milk etc.
- If you don't need the pudding to be gluten-free, you can replace the gluten-free flour with plain flour.
- The ground almonds can be replaced with ground walnuts or 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour.
- The cashew butter can be replaced with any other smooth nut butter, or coconut butter.
- For a nut-free version, use ground sunflower seeds or 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour instead of ground almonds, use a nut-free plant-based milk, and use coconut butter instead of cashew butter.
- You can omit the brandy in the toffee sauce, or sub any other liqueur of choice - ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary.
How long does this keep for?
- It's best eaten straight away while it's still warm and the toffee sauce is still runny.
- It does keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days, but the sauce won't stay runny.
- The sauce won't stay runny when cold, but it can be re-heated gently in a saucepan until it reaches your desired consistency.
More similar vegan desserts
- Rice Pudding
- Bread Pudding
- Lemon Pudding
- Christmas Pudding
- Strawberry Trifle
- Chocolate Christmas Pudding
- Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding
- Chocolate Fudge Pudding
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I'd really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding (Gluten-Free)
This Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding is a super comforting dessert: a moist, caramel-flavoured sponge covered in a thick, indulgent toffee sauce. It's easy to make, and perfect for Christmas and the winter season!
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Servings: 8
Calories: 426kcal
Ingredients
For the dates:
- 150 g (¾ cup) pitted dates , chopped into small pieces
- 150 ml (⅔ cup) boiling hot water
For the sticky toffee pudding:
- 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 150 ml (⅔ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 8 tablespoons coconut sugar (or sub normal sugar or any other sweetener)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar * (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) **
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
For the toffee sauce:
- 4 tablespoons smooth cashew butter (or sub any other smooth nut butter or coconut butter)
- 10 tablespoons coconut sugar (or sub normal sugar or any other sweetener)
- 180 ml (¾ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- Splash brandy (to taste/optional. Or sub any other liqueur of choice - ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary)
Instructions
For the dates:
- Place the chopped dates into a bowl and pour over boiling hot water.
- Leave to soak for 15 minutes, while assembling the rest of the ingredients.
- Use a fork to gently mash the soaked dates until you get a rough paste.
For the sticky toffee pudding:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the coconut sugar, vinegar, vanilla, salt and ground almonds.
- Add the mashed soaked dates, including all the water.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it's looking too dry.
- Transfer the batter into a baking dish - I used one measuring 26 cm (10 inch) by 18 cm (7 inch) and 7 cm (2 ½ inch) tall.
- Smooth over the top of the batter.
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until risen and golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
For the toffee sauce:
- While the pudding is baking in the oven, make the toffee sauce by placing all the ingredients in a saucepan.
- Heat gently on a low heat, mixing well to get rid of any clumps of nut butter - you can use a whisk to do this.
- Keep stirring while you heat the sauce, and cook until it starts to bubble gently. Be careful to not let it burn!
- Pour some of the sauce over the pudding as soon as it's out of the oven - it will absorb better while it's still hot. Keep the rest for pouring over extra toffee sauce when serving.
- Best enjoyed immediately! Pour over extra toffee sauce to serve. Tastes especially good with some vegan vanilla ice cream or custard.
- Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days. The sauce won't stay runny when cold, but it can be re-heated gently in a saucepan until it reaches your desired consistency.
Notes
*If you don't want to use vinegar, replace it with 2 tablespoons lemon juice as you need something acidic to react with the alkali bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to make the sponge fluffy.
**You can alternatively use almond flour.
Nutrition Facts
Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding (Gluten-Free)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 426
Calories from Fat 198
% Daily Value*
Fat 22g34%
Saturated Fat 8g40%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Sodium 148mg6%
Potassium 196mg6%
Carbohydrates 57g19%
Fiber 5g20%
Sugar 32g36%
Protein 8g16%
Vitamin A 2IU0%
Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
Calcium 125mg13%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Anonymous
So excited to make this!!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much! Hope you'll love it!
Jan
Hi
I dont use oil, can I Substitute Apple Sauce ? Or?
Thanks
Jan
Rhian Williams
Yes, you can replace the oil with a few tablespoons of applesauce!