I’ve always been a fan of Sticky Toffee Pudding with its dense cake and luscious caramel sauce, so I was eager to try this lighter, caramel-custard version with its drool-worthy trifle presentation. I took it to a friend’s house recently as a contribution to their post-Thanksgiving dinner dessert party and it was a huge hit.
My only objection to a large trifle is it gets quite messy in the bowl about halfway through the dishing out. For that reason, it’s nice to do individual trifles in parfait glasses or mason jars such as I did for the Black Forest trifles.
The recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding Trifle fills a 4-quart trifle dish, making three sets of three layers. I used a 3-quart dish, making two sets of three layers and had leftovers of all the components.
I froze some of the cake for snacking later in the season, anticipating an afternoon with a cup of brandy-laced coffee topped with whipped cream. The rest of the leftovers were happily consumed as samplers. We wouldn’t want to take a dessert that hadn’t been tested, now would we?
Sticky Toffee Trifle
This trifle is a modern twist on a British classic, sticky toffee pudding. Perfect for a standout holiday dessert, the spongey cake studded with dates is layered with caramel custard and whipped cream, and topped with chopped crystalized ginger.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 c boiling water
- 287 g (10 oz) dates, pitted and chopped
- 227 g (8 oz) butter at room temperature
- 300 g (10.6 oz) brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest (from about 1/2 lemon)
- 3 large eggs
- 360 g (12.7 oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the custard
- 450 g (15.9 oz) granulated sugar, divided (400 and 50 g, respectively)
- 1/2 c water
- 4 c milk, warmed
- 86 g (3 oz) cornstarch
- 8 egg yolks*
- 113 g (4 oz) butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For the Whipped Cream
- 4 c heavy whipping cream
- 28 g (1 oz) confectioners’ sugar
- 70 g (2.5 oz) crystalized ginger, chopped
Instructions
Make the custard
- In a large, deep skillet or 8 quart stockpot, combine 400 g of sugar and 1/2 c water. (The mixture will foam up considerably at the next step, so make sure you use a large pot).
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is honey coloured. Don’t worry about the odd crystalized clump, it will smooth out later. Carefully whisk in the warm milk until the mixture is smooth. Don’t be alarmed at how much this fizzes up at the beginning. It’s normal! 🙂
- In medium bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and the remaining 50 g of sugar. Add the egg yolks, whisking until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in a couple of ladlesful of the warm milk mixture to temper the egg mixture. Then add the egg mixture to the pan with the milk mixture, whisking until smooth. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is thickened and bubbly (8 to 10 minutes). Remove from the heat, add the butter and vanilla extract and stir until the butter is melted.
- Pour the mixture into a heatproof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap down onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin forming. Refrigerate at least six hours and up to 3 days.
Make the cake
- In a medium bowl, combine the baking soda and 1 1/2 c boiling water. Add the dates, stir and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325°F convection or 350°F regular. Grease and flour a 13×9″ pan, or spray with baking spray containing flour.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and lemon zest at medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined after each addition. Gently beat in the date mixture. Beat in the flour mixture in three additions, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake until a wooden toothpick or cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean (40-45 minutes). Let cake cool completely in the pan.
Make the Whipped Cream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the confectioners sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.
Assemble the trifle
- Check your trifle bowl for volume and decide on the number of layers you will be making (see notes ).
- Cut the cake into 1″ cubes, and place one-third of cake cubes in the trifle dish. Spread one-third of the Caramel Custard over the cake. Top with one-third of the Whipped Cream. Repeat layers according to the size of your trifle dish. Garnish with crystalized ginger.
Notes
- This recipe will fill a 4-quart trifle dish, with the ingredients presented in three sets of three layers. If you’re using the more common 3-quart dish, two sets of three layers is about right. You’ll have leftovers for smaller, individual trifles each comprising one set of three layers, or in our house, taste testing!
- *you can freeze the egg whites and use them later. I like to have them on hand for Swiss or Italian Buttercream frosting
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 12
I’m sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch.
Oh my gosh Helen – I almost had to get up, leave work, go make some cake/trifle/cocoa with whip, and sit by the fire with a book for the rest of the day! I contented myself with just whimpering a little and promising myself a “Me” day later in the season! 🙂 Your recipes are so inspiring – Thanks!
So glad you liked the recipe, Barb. And as far as I’m concerned, you’ve described the perfect day. Nothing like a fire, cocoa, and whipped cream. I too am looking forward to doing a bit of that later in the season.
We went with four of the grandgirls and one set of parents to our village tree-lighting last night. They had carol singing, a reindeer to meet the kids. Santa pulled up in a firetruck and then had a countdown to lighting the big tree in the town square. We walked back to our house afterwards for cupcakes, cocoa with whipped cream (and Scotch for the guys, of course). It was magical!
OH! I love sticky toffee pudding! I have to try this!
I think you’ll like it if you like the traditional version. It’s lighter and creamier.
Wait! What??? There was a reindeer at the tree-lighting ceremony? A real reindeer? What fun!
Yes! He had recently shed his antlers, too. They had antlers of various sizes there to show the kids. The reindeer’s handler was asking the kids, “Can you imagine flying with these things on your head?”
Dear Helen,
Uh-oh…you lost me at dates…something about the mealy consistency. I wonder if prunes would work? Otherwise it looks scrumptious. Thanks for giving weights to things like flour–drives me crazy when recipes call for a cup of flour, which can vary wildly depending on how it’s dredged, leveled, or fluffed. Our enormous village tree went up by crane the day I left; can’t wait to see it all decorated and lit, next to the onion-domed Baroque church with the Christkindlmarkt all around it!
I wasn’t able to detect the dates as a separate item. They blended in fine, with no mealy texture. Having said that, we all have our particular taste preferences. I can’t abide cardamom or cilantro, while others delight in them. If you have any hesitation, by all means try substituting prunes. Please let me know how it goes!