Sticky toffee pudding

Sticky toffee pudding is a British steamed dessert consisting of a very moist sponge cake, made with finely chopped dates or prunes, covered in a toffee sauce and often served with a vanilla custard or vanilla ice-cream. It is considered a modern British ‘classic’, alongside Jam Roly-Poly and Spotted Dick puddings, capturing for many the childhood memories of growing up in the 20th Century.

Origins

The dessert's origins are considered a "mystery" according to the gastronomic journal, Saveur; however, the dominant story is that Francis Coulson developed and served this dessert at his Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel in the Lake District in 1960. Coulson's former protégé and chef, Juan Martin, has said that according to Coulson, the original concept for the dessert was derived from the South of England. Indeed this statement was backed up when the hotel researched the origins of sticky toffee pudding before the launch of its retail version. However, it has also been reported that the landlady of The Gait Inn, Millington, invented it in 1907 for sale in her pub. In any case, Coulson introduced and refined the dessert to the general public, making his recipe completely accessible to all those who asked.

Aberdeenshire also has claims regarding the origins of the dessert. The Udny Arms Hotel in Newburgh, Aberdeenshire has claimed that it invented the pudding years earlier than anyone else has been serving it, and those living in the surrounding area cite the hotel as the birthplace of the dessert. The Saplinbrae House Hotel in Peterhead, also in Aberdeenshire, has claims of it being originated there, long before it was being sold to the public, and of it being given to people living in the house at the time.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• Traditional Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe