This pumpkin sticky toffee pudding is made with a soft and moist pumpkin cake that's soaked in a gooey toffee sauce. It's a warm and cozy dessert that's even better served with a scoop of ice cream and extra warm toffee sauce.
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Notes from the baker
This pumpkin sticky toffee pudding is a Fall-inspired variation of the classic British dessert. The whole can of pumpkin puree in the cake creates a moist cake texture that is so satisfying to dig into.
Dare I say the pumpkin spice flavour tastes even better with the toffee sauce than the classic version made with dates? It's a fun flavour combination to try if you want to change it up!
Why you'll love this recipe
- Soft and moist pumpkin cake. This pumpkin is so moist and tender even by itself before adding the toffee sauce.
- Gooey and delicious toffee sauce. The cake is soaked and served with a toffee sauce that's full of caramelized brown sugar flavour and so easy to make.
- Warm and cozy dessert. It's best served warm with a scoop of ice cream, making it the ideal cold weather dessert.
Tools
- 9x13" baking pan - This recipe is scaled for a 9x13" rectangular pan. It can also be made in individual ramekins for classic single serve sticky toffee puddings.
- Electric hand mixer - A hand mixer makes creaming the butter and sugar together quick and easy. If you don't have one, use a spatula to mix the softened butter around and then switch to a whisk when the batter becomes more fluid after adding the eggs.
- Small saucepan - You'll need a small saucepan to make the toffee sauce on the stovetop. Any kind will do.
- Offset spatula - An offset spatula has the perfect ergonomic shape for spreading cake batter and toffee sauce into an even layer in the pan.
Ingredient notes
As always, the fullย recipe cardย with ingredient amounts and instructions is at the bottom of this post! Keep reading for more details on each ingredient or skip ahead to theย recipe.
- All-purpose flour
- Pumpkin pie spice - You can use premixed pumpkin pie spice or mix your own with ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, and cloves. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for measurements.
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Unsalted butter - You'll need butter for both the cake and the toffee sauce. For the cake, use softened butter to make it easier to cream together with the sugar.
- Brown sugar - Brown sugar gives the cake a deep, caramelized flavour and it's also the base of the toffee sauce.
- Light molasses - Molasses helps make the pumpkin cake soft and gooey while adding a caramelized flavour. I would recommend using light molasses or cooking molasses (a blend of light molasses and fancy molasses) for a light flavour that isn't too strong or overwhelming.
- Eggs - Let the eggs come to room temperature before adding them to the batter to prevent curdling. If you forget to take them out ahead of time, you can submerge them in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
- Pumpkin puree - We're using one whole can of pumpkin puree in this cake so there won't be any leftovers to worry about. Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Vanilla extract
- Milk - Use any dairy or non-dairy milk you prefer. This should also be at room temperature.
- Heavy cream - Heavy cream makes the toffee sauce rich and buttery. You can also use whipping cream for a lighter sauce.
Tips for making the best pumpkin sticky toffee pudding
- Use room temperature ingredients. Whenever a recipe calls for creaming butter and sugars together, you should use room temperature ingredients to ensure the batter comes together seamlessly and to prevent the batter from curdling.
- Don't overcook the toffee sauce. The toffee sauce is ready to use shortly after it comes to a boil. If you cook it for too long, it can become too thick and won't absorb into the cake as much, which is fine and still delicious but it will sit on top of the cake rather than soak in throughout the cake. Also, keep the sauce warm until you're ready to use it as it will thicken and firm up as it cools.
- Soak the cake in toffee sauce while it's still warm. The cake has the best capacity to absorb all the delicious toffee sauce into it when it's still warm or preferably hot, straight out of the oven.
- Serve warm! This pumpkin sticky toffee pudding is best served warm. In fact, I'd say it's a must for the best cake and sauce texture! The contrast between the warm pudding and cold ice cream is heavenly and the only way to eat it, in my opinion.
Storage
This pumpkin sticky toffee pudding can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave until the toffee sauce liquefies and the cake is soft.
Leftovers can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Reheat in the oven or microwave to thaw and serve warm.
Frequently asked questions
Baking by weight is much more accurate than volume. When using US standard cups, ingredients like flour and sugar can easily be overpacked into the cup causing you to add too much of certain ingredients. Recipes with weight measurements are also easier to scale to smaller or bigger batches without dealing with weird fractions.ย To measure by weight, you simply need a kitchen scale which you can usually pick up for less than $20.
Small measurements are given in tablespoons and teaspoons because most kitchen scales are not accurate under about 10g. Tiny amounts like a ยผ teaspoon may not register accurately unless you have a drug scale. Mixing these measurements is a common practice among other recipe sites and commercial kitchens.
More pumpkin recipes to try
Recipe
Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Pudding
Equipment
Ingredientsย ย
Pumpkin Cake
- 350 g all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- 115 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 200 g brown sugar
- 50 g light molasses
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 420 g pumpkin puree, 1 can
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 150 g milk, room temperature
Toffee Sauce
- 115 g unsalted butter
- 100 g brown sugar
- 150 g heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ยผ teaspoon salt
Instructionsย
Pumpkin Cake
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF. Grease the bottom of a 9x13" baking pan and set aside.
- Dry ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugars: In a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter. Use an electric hand mixer to beat the butter until creamy and pale in colour. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat together until fluffy.
- Beat in eggs: Beat in one egg at a time, mixing well in between each addition. Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Mix batter: Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Add all of the milk and mix until mostly combined. Finish with mixing in the remaining flour mixture until just combined.
- Fill pan: Pour the batter into a 9x13" baking pan. Use an offset spatula to smooth the batter into an even layer and into the corners of the pan.
- Bake: Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.
Toffee Sauce
- Tip: While the cake is baking, prepare the toffee sauce so that it's ready to use once the cake comes out of the oven.
- Cook sauce: In a small saucepan, add the butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Bring it to a boil on medium-high heat and then turn it down to medium and let it simmer for about 2 minutes for a thinner sauce or 5 minutes for a thicker sauce, stirring often.
- Soak cake in toffee sauce: Immediately after taking the cake out of the oven, use a chopstick to poke holes across the entire cake. Pour most of the toffee sauce on top of the cake, reserving some for serving. Use an offset spatula to spread the sauce across the cake.
- Slice: Slice and serve while warm with a scoop of ice cream and extra toffee sauce.
Notes
- Pumpkin pie spice:ย You can use store-bought pumpkin pie spice mix or make your own. To make your own, stir together:
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ยฝ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ยฝ teaspoon ground cloves
- You can double or triple this mix as needed. Use what you need from this mixture and save the rest for other recipes!
Alanya says
This is a delicious dessert with an easy-to-follow recipe! I couldn't find in the instructions what step you recommended adding the pumpkin, but I added it before the eggs and had no issues ๐
C says
Excited to try this! Btw the instruction on your recipe don't state to add the pumpkin in the batter. Its in the ingredients but not on the actual recipe. Added this after the eggs. Hopefully I did it right! ๐