Food historians attempting to trace the origins of sticky toffee pudding have their work cut out for them. The dessert so often associated with Great Britain may not be British at all. And despite assumptions to the contrary, it probably wasn't on Victorian Christmas menus. To be fair, 18th-century holiday feasts in Britain probably featured a cake-like pudding, but it was more likely the aptly named Christmas pudding. Similar but different, the precursor to sticky toffee pudding is a spiced molasses steamed confection made with suet and soaked in brandy.
According to BBC, British author Tess Baxter set the timeline straight in 2012. In her book "The Lake District and Cumbria in Recipes and Photographs," Baxter asserts, "Sticky toffee pudding is such a favorite today that it seems that it must always have been around. However, it is a relatively recent addition to the local recipe book." Baxter claims Sharrow Bay Hotel in the Cumbria region of Great Britain introduced the confection in the 1970s.
This is where it gets, well, sticky. While it's true that Cumbria is known for mouth-watering confections like Cumberland rum nicky (lattice-topped crystallized ginger and fruit tart) and Borrowdale tea bread (fruit-studded cake soaked in tea), the region's connection to sticky toffee pudding is a bit more tenuous. As Sarah Holliday, co-owner of the Cartmel Village Shop, a longtime Cumbrian purveyor of sticky toffee pudding, told BBC, "We've championed it, embraced it and pushed it forward more than anyone else. But we did not invent it."
By and large, sticky toffee pudding connoisseurs acknowledge its connection to Cumbria. Since introducing the sweet confection to its product list in 1984, the Cartmel Village Shop has sold more than 10 million puddings. However, the exact location of its genesis remains a mystery. To further complicate matters, there's also a rumored link to an origin story that begins in Canada. And in a twist worthy of an Agatha Christie novel, both stories converge at the aforementioned Sharrow Bay Hotel. And both involve 20th-century British chef (and co-owner of the Sharrow Bay Hotel) Francis Coulson. But contrary to Tess Baxter's assertion that sticky toffee pudding was introduced by the Cumbrian hotel in the 1970s, other accounts pin the sweet dessert's debut to the 1940s.
By some accounts, Royal Canadian Air Force pilots' use of maple syrup during World War II inspired Coulson's business partner, Brian Sack, to develop the dessert. Another theory bypasses Sack completely but maintains the Canadian connection. As the story goes, members of the Royal Canadian Air Force serving in Britain during World War II shared the recipe with Patricia Martin, a Lancashire hotelier who gave it to Francis Coulson years later. Rumor has it that Coulson confirmed the recipe's Lancashire connection sometime before his death in 1998, acknowledging that he received it from Martin but made a few changes before adding it to the Sharrow Bay House menu. And we haven't even touched lesser-known rumors like the story that pins the debut of sticky toffee pudding to 1907. Sticky business, indeed.
That's right, this yummy pudding was created by Canadians! Decades later, Martin gave the recipe to Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel employees Francis Coulson and Robert Lee. They were the first people to publically sell this sticky sensation, which inevitably became an international smash.
While a few different restaurants across England claim they created the dessert, the Scots argue that it was first served at the Udny Arms Hotel Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1967, where it is still expertly served to this day.
The beloved British classic is popping up on dessert menus across the United States, from natural wine bars to Harry Potter World. Sticky toffee pudding is a clear communicator.
Unfortunately though these type of self-saucing puddings do not reheat very well as the sauce tends to thicken and be absorbed by the sponge as the pudding cools. So when you reheat the pudding it will have a sticky base but with very little sauce.
The Irish love to eat it as a dessert or snack, accompanied by vanilla ice cream (for a touch of freshness!). You'll find them in most local restaurants serving Irish cuisine, but you can also find them in pastry shops.
Like the Christmas pudding and figgy puddings before it, the sticky toffee pudding is usually steamed for maximum moisture. Instead of figs, however, very finely chopped dates are added to the cake, which gets covered in a toffee sauce.
Cartmel is the home of Sticky Toffee - it's something we're very proud of, just as we are of our 12th century Priory, and the racecourse which runs straight past our Village Shop. Here is where Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding was born – we started baking in the back kitchen of our Village Shop over 30 years ago.
* For those who don't have such a sweet tooth a ginger flavoured beer like Blandford's Ginger Fly can be a delicious match. * Or, if you fancy something a bit stronger, a nip of Drambuie or other whisky liqueur, a cognac or an armagnac.
Sticky toffee pudding, known as sticky date pudding in Australia and New Zealand, is a British dessert consisting of a moist sponge cake made with finely chopped dates (optional), covered in a toffee sauce and often served with a vanilla custard or vanilla ice-cream.
American puddings are closer to what the Brits would call "custard." A British pudding is a dish, savory or sweet, that's cooked by being boiled or steamed in something: a dish, a piece of cloth, or even animal intestine.
The Udny Arms Hotel in Newburgh-on-Ythan, Scotland claim to have first served Sticky Toffee Pudding in 1967. It still appears on the menu to this day and is served with clotted cream ice cream – mmmm! Hang on a minute say Yorkshire – they claim the landlady at the Gait Inn in Millington invented it in 1907.
In Commonwealth countries (other than some Canadian regions), these foods are known as custards (or curds) if they are egg-thickened, blancmange if starch-thickened, and jelly if gelatin-based.
Cartmel is the home of Sticky Toffee - it's something we're very proud of, just as we are of our 12th century Priory, and the racecourse which runs straight past our Village Shop. Here is where Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding was born – we started baking in the back kitchen of our Village Shop over 30 years ago.
Like the Christmas pudding and figgy puddings before it, the sticky toffee pudding is usually steamed for maximum moisture. Instead of figs, however, very finely chopped dates are added to the cake, which gets covered in a toffee sauce.
The difference between toffee and caramel is that caramel is made with white granulated sugar and cooked to 340 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas toffee is made with butter and brown sugar and cooked to 295 - 309 degrees Fahrenheit.
Introduction: My name is Annamae Dooley, I am a witty, quaint, lovely, clever, rich, sparkling, powerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
