DUBLIN, Ireland — When it comes to classic British and Irish desserts, the proof is in the pudding — literally.
Forget those smooth, gelatin-like convenience foods found in American supermarket snack packs and quick-mix aisles; these puddings are cakey, thick and rich. And they are a staple of the holidays.
Reigning supreme among puddings are sticky toffee pudding (a spongy cake studded with dates and smothered in toffee sauce) and the seasonally ubiquitous Christmas pudding (a heavy, moist fruitcake topped with a liquor sauce).
While Christmas pudding rarely appears outside the run-up to the winter holidays, sticky toffee pudding is a quintessentially British dessert that is a favorite throughout the year.
"It's the kind of pudding you make when you want to spoil people," says food historian Sara Paston-Williams, who recently wrote the book "Good Old-Fashioned Puddings" for Britain's National Trust.
"You've got a sweet base pudding, and then you put more sweetness on the top of it," she says.
The dessert certainly isn't one of Britain's oldest puddings, despite its iconic standing on the pastry scale. Its history is debated, with several hotels claiming to have invented the recipe.
But Paston-Williams says a number of caramel-type puddings were popular in the 1930s, when it was en vogue for British chefs to re-create Victorian recipes. So sticky toffee pudding's origins probably trace back to the mid-1800s.
Paston-Williams credits chef Francis Coulson, however, for the pudding's current popularity. He reportedly developed the delicacy in its current form at the Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel in Britain's lake district in 1960.
"He made it really his trademark kind of pudding," she says.
It's the skillful combination of cake and sauce that is the secret to the perfect pudding, says Simon Johns, who runs the California-based English Pudding Co.
"We make the cake, let it go cold, make the sauce, let that cool, then pour the sauce over the cake" before reheating a final time to serve, says Johns, whose parents run the Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding Co. Ltd. in Cumbria, England.
Some people still include coins or trinkets in the served pudding, a centuries-old tradition meant to bring luck to the diners who discover them. Another good-fortune custom centers around the mixing. Relatives would take turns stirring the mixture, making a wish with each turn.
STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING
This decadent dessert is the perfect finish to any holiday meal. For a variation, mix chocolate chips, cocoa powder or instant coffee powder into the batter just before baking.
Start to finish: 45 minutes
Servings: 8
For the cake:
1 cup chopped dried dates
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup boiling water
5 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
For the sauce:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 stick butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon rum extract
Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat eight ramekins with cooking spray and arrange them on a rimmed baking sheet.
In a small bowl, combine the dates and baking soda. Pour the boiling water over the dates and set aside.
In a food processor, combine the butter and sugar and process until thoroughly incorporated. With the processor running, add the eggs one at a time and process until smooth. If needed, stop the processor and scrape down the sides.
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger into the mixture, then use a spoon or silicone spatula to gently fold in the dry ingredients. Stir in the date mixture, and vanilla and rum extracts.
Spoon the batter into the ramekins and bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.
Meanwhile, make the sauce by combining all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
When the cakes are done, if the tops of the cakes have domed during cooking (expanded above the rim of the ramekin) use a serrated knife to trim and discard the dome, making the cakes level with the rim of the ramekin.
To serve, pool a bit of toffee sauce in the center of each serving plate. Overturn a cake into the center of each pool (the cakes should release easily from the ramekins). Drizzle the top of the cake with additional sauce. Serve warm.