Sticky Toffee Pudding

And my favourite pudding is…

Sticky Toffee Pudding!

Tucked away in a beautiful bay on Lake Ullswater in Cumbria, one of my favourite hotels, Sharrow Bay.

Formerly a fisherman’s lodge, Sharrow Bay was advertised for sale in the Manchester Guardian in 1948. An enterprising young man named Francis Coulson fell in love with the property and purchased it. With very little money and the help of friends he opened the hotel with four letting bedrooms in the spring of that year. In 1952, Brian Sack joined him. Intending to stay for one summer only, Brian too fell in love with the place and a team was formed that would dominate the British hotel scene for many decades.

I fell in love with Sharrow Bay when I lived in Cumbria. A hotelier myself, I would there on special occasions and it was a treat to meet with the two gentlemen, who by then were elderly but still passionately involved in the day-to-day running of their business.  Francis and Brian termed the words, ‘Country House Hotel’ and Sharrow Bay was outstanding. Their over-the-top service and eclectic style was adored by guests from all around the world and their business set the bar for hoteliers throughout the country.

Dinner was an occasion. You never knew who might be seated at the next table. Brian would tend to a guest’s every need and Francis would hover with a basket, offering a selection of bread at the start of your meal. Displayed on a table as you entered the restaurant was a selection of desserts.. Such a treat for the eyes! I always chose the Sticky Toffee Pudding. The Independent newspaper described Francis’s pudding as, ‘airy, light sticky toffee pudding that could stand as an epitaph to him.’ Indeed it does and is still served today at Sharrow Bay.

Many lay claim to the Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe and countless versions can be found. In Australia and New Zealand it is known as sticky date pudding and there is a shop in Cartmel (www.cartmelvillageshop.co.uk) that supplies their pudding to leading retailers including Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason.

Rumour suggests that Francis got the recipe from a Patricia Martin of Claughton in Lancashire who served the dish at her hotel and she got the recipe from two Canadian air force officers who stayed with her during WWII.

For me the pudding is a perfect British dessert best enjoyed on a winter’s afternoon by a roaring log fire. It can be served with custard or ice cream and additional toffee sauce. My favourite is with home-made vanilla custard.

RECIPE

This is my version of Sticky Toffee Pud – enjoy!

Pudding

Ingredients:

150g self-raising flour

2 large eggs

60g golden castor sugar

60g butter

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

250ml hot water

200g chopped dates

 

Toffee Sauce

Ingredients:

250ml double cream

220g unsalted butter

400g dark brown sugar

A dash of a good vanilla essence

 

Method   (Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4|)

For the pudding, add the bicarbonate of soda to the water and add the dates. Leave to soak for an hour. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs and gradually add to the creamed mixture. Fold in the flour then add the dates. Spoon into a 20cm square tin and bake for 40 minutes.

For the sauce, melt the butter in a thick bottomed pan over a medium heat then add the sugar, vanilla, cream. Stir and simmer gently for five minutes.

To serve, pour hot toffee sauce over a portion of the pudding.