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This Sticky Toffee Persimmon Pudding is the most delicious one-bowl dessert that consists of a single layer sponge that’s topped with sticky toffee sauce. Pair it with a cup my Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte for peak fall behavior!
Persimmons are romantic. I know that sounds silly but if you’ve ever been to Japan in the fall, you’ll see persimmons hanging from the ceilings by string. It’s called hoshigaki. The art of dried persimmons. It’s absolutely gorgeous and it uses my favorite type of persimmon: the hachiya.
Ingredients for Sticky Toffee Persimmon Pudding
- Hachiya Persimmons – this pulp from very ripe hachiya persimmons is what will give this cake the most moisture and delicious flavor.
- Butter – melted butter in the cake is our fat of choice, giving moisture and flavor. More butter is used in the toffee too.
- Egg – This gives the sponge structure and body.
- Heavy cream – This is added to the sticky toffee to offer a creamy element.
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe card below!
What is Sticky Toffee Pudding
Sticky Toffee Pudding is a traditional British and English dessert. It’s also popular in New Zealand and Australia. The colonizer’s dessert! It’s made of a moist sponge cake that is sweetened with ripe dates and served with a toffee sauce on top. It’s absolutely delicious. This is definitely my favorite British winter dessert; while my favorite British summer dessert is Eton Mess.
We are obviously doing it a bit different by using hachiya persimmons instead. I like to think of this as an American and British mash-up. Persimmon cake is very American and I’m combining the two.
Fuyu Persimmons vs. Hachiya Persimmons
There are two types of persimmons: fuyus and hachiyas. Fuyas are round and stout and eaten best when theyโre firm. Theyโre perfect for salads or even in stuffing.
Hachiyas should be eaten when theyโre very, VERY soft. The ones I had were so soft I thought they were going to burst
How to Make Sticky Toffee Persimmon Pudding
- Whisk the persimmon pulp until smooth. I like to start this in a very large measuring cup so I can measure out the persimmon pulp and then it’s turns into a one-bowl cake! You want to whisk the pulp until it’s smooth.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients. Add in the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, white sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, egg and vanilla. Lastly, add in the flour.
- Bake it up! Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and transfer it to the oven. It’ll take about 45 minutes to be done.
- Make the Sticky Toffee – This is my favorite part. In a saucepan, add in the butter, brown sugar and salt. Cook it until it starts to caramelize. Then pour in the heavy cream and whisk it until smooth.
- Pour on top – When the cake comes out of the oven, let it stand for about 5 minutes. Then pour the warm sticky toffee on top. Add some flakey sea salt.
Recipe Tip
- Re-warming the toffee sauce – If you make it early on in the process and it cools down, it might stiffen up. No problem. Just set it over medium low heat and whisk it until smooth. Add a splash more of heavy cream if needed.
- How to store the cake – I love this cake warm or at room temperature. Store it on the kitchen counter. I’ll often times put it on a large plate or cutting board and top it with a colander to protect it from anything.
Recipe FAQs
Not really but they should! I think this is a nice American take lol.
The British call this super moist sponge a pudding. I think it resembles the texture of a cake more. But I will say it’s a nice in-between. Regardless, it’s delicious.
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If you tried this Sticky Toffee Persimmon Pudding or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Sticky Toffee Persimmon Pudding
Video
Equipment
- 1 (8-inch round cake pan)
Ingredients
Persimmon Pudding:
- 1 cup hachiya persimmon pulp, from 3 very ripe hachiya persimmons
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Sticky Toffee:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 vanilla bean, scrapedย
- 3 tablespoons heavy creamย
- Flakey sea salt, for garnish
Instructions
To Make the Persimmon Pudding:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a 4-cup measuring cup, measure out the persimmon pulp; give it a good mash with a fork until itโs resembles a smooth(ish) puree. Stir in the baking soda, white granulated sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, egg and vanilla extract
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined, being sure not to over mix the batter. Transfer to a 7-inch or 8-inch round baking dish. Bake in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until the center puffs up slightly and the edges pull away from the pan.ย
To Make the Sticky Toffee:
- In a medium saucepan, set over medium low heat, add the butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Cook until the butter has melted and the brown sugar begins to caramelize, about 2 to 3 minutes. When the brown sugar begins to bubble, add the heavy cream and stir. Cook for an additional 3 minutes. During this time the toffee sauce will thicken and reduce by a little bit.
To Assemble the Pudding:
- When the persimmon pudding comes out of the oven, pour the warm toffee sauce over the pudding and sprinkle with a few generous pinches of sea salt.ย
Notes
- Alternatively you could use a 8×5 or 9×5-inch loaf pan.ย
- The persimmons should be VERY soft to the touch. Even bruised looking is ok.ย
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
It was great! Rated 4/5 cause I think it was a bit too sweet, would probably lower the amount of sugar on the pudding. Nonetheless, it was still delicious with a “fior di latte” gelato, which helped to balanced the sweetness. Instead of the vanilla bean, I added a few drops of vanilla extract in the sticky toffee, and also added a bit more cream. It was very easy to make. Delicious!
This recipe is so easy and delicious. I received a bunch of fuyu persimmons to make into baby food but some were very very ripe. I used about 5 to make a cup and purรฉed them in the baby food maker. I did not make the toffee topping but instead used a left over jar of frosting. This doesnโt need the topping. It would be delicious by itself or with a little vanilla ice cream. Iโm saving this recipe to make again. I may add some nuts next time.
sounds amazing!! so glad you loved it, april ๐
Super easy and Sooooo Yummy! My entire family loved this treat–so much so I promptly made it again! A HUGE HIT!
I’m a bit of a beginner in the kitchen… happy to report that this was very easy to do and turned out perfectly… Delicious! I was confused regarding vanilla bean or extract in the toffee so used 1/4 tsp extract. Definitely hit our highest standard, ranking “Good enough for Company”. Thanks.
Hi
Question….The pudding is in the oven so now I’m on to the sticky toffee. The list of ingredients calls for 1/4 vanilla bean scraped but the instructions don’t mention it; instead it says to add Vanilla Extract. How much? What am I supposed to do with the vanilla bean? Thanks in advance for answering.
Maggie
The persimmons I had were sweet and the pudding turner out too sweet to put the toffee on it. The sugar in the recipe probably could be cut in half.