Sticky Toffee Pudding With Bourbon Sauce

This might just be my new favorite holiday dessert. 

Let me start by saying that, when I'm looking up recipes and find one that interests me, nothing annoys me more than reading a short story on how the author grew up on a farm milking cows as the early morning dew glistened on the blah, blah, blah.....(not interested!). So I'm going to spare you the Rockwellian musing and just get to the point; how to make this delicious holiday treat, sticky toffee pudding. 

I used Four Roses Small Batch for this recipe; I love how the chocolate,  caramel, and spice notes from the bourbon compliment the cake and the sauce in this dessert without being overpowering. I've also tried this recipe with Buffalo Trace; the bourbon has slight notes of grape and stone fruit that I feel highlight the dates in the cake. You can choose any bourbon you like, but I'd recommend sticking with something around 90 proof. 

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Bourbon Sauce 
6 servings

Ingredients

Sticky Toffee Pudding

• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter, cubed & room temperature 
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/3 C. dark brown sugar
• 1/3 C. Turbinado sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp. bourbon (I used Four Roses Small Batch)
• 3/4 C. flour
• 1 C. Medjool dates, pitted & chopped 
• 1/2 C. hot water 

Bourbon Sauce

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 C. dark brown sugar
• 3/4 C. heavy cream 
• 3 Tbsp. bourbon (I used Four Roses Small Batch here as well) 
• Dash of salt

Instructions
1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease 4-6 ramekins (4 oz. size). 

2 Add the butter, sugars, baking soda, salt, eggs, bourbon & flour to a food processor or blender. Pulse or blend until combined. 

3 Add the hot water and dates, continue to blend until smooth. 

4 Place the prepared ramekins on a baking sheet. Spoon the filling into each ramekin until they are roughly 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick pricked in the center of a cake comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly. 

5 While the cakes are cooling, make the bourbon sauce. In a saucepan, add the butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, bourbon, and salt. Whisk continuously over medium-high heat until the mixture begins to bubble. Drop the heat down to medium-low and continue to whisk the sauce until it thickens, about 5 minutes. 

6 You can either spoon the sauce directly into the ramekins to serve, or (if you're not as worried about appearance) you can use a fork to poke holes in the cakes and pour the sauce over top, then place them back in the oven on broil for 1-2 minutes (my preferred method). 

7 Remove the cakes from the oven. Serve as-is, or topped with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or this Bourbon-infused Whipped Cream. 

Did you make this recipe? Let us know! 
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Sara Ahlgrim 
Co-founder of It's Bourbon Night & Whiskey Ambitions