Gluten-Free Sticky Toffee Pudding (Dairy-Free Recipe)

This gluten-free sticky toffee pudding is the ultimate dessert. No one will guess it’s gluten-free and dairy-free. It’s moist, decadent and utterly delicious.

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How the recipe came about & a bonfire night story

The first time I made this pudding was for Bonfire Night — the perfect excuse for a special meal of roast chicken followed by a hot, indulgent sticky toffee pudding. Because gluten-free and dairy-free versions are hard to find, the kids had never tried it before. The result? It was an overwhelming success. Bowls were emptied in no time and second helpings were requested.

Unfortunately, the fireworks display we went to afterwards didn’t go as smoothly. We headed out on a dry, mild evening to a favourite local charity’s bonfire and display. We’ve been attending since the kids were toddlers, and every year at least one of them has been frightened. This year our youngest declared he didn’t want to go, then changed his mind at the last minute. Predictably, when the first firework burst into colour he started sobbing and asked to leave. A few minutes later our daughter, who normally loves fireworks, got scared too. After a muddy, slippery walk back to the car we warmed up and watched the rest of the display snug inside the car. The next morning our little one proudly announced he “loved fireworks” and soon regaled the neighbour’s child with the tale.

Story over — back to the recipe.

How do you make a gluten-free sticky toffee pudding?

Sticky toffee pudding is simpler to make than many expect. Start by placing chopped, stoned dates in a bowl with boiling water and bicarbonate of soda to soften. Cream the dairy-free margarine or butter with the sugar until pale, then add the eggs, flour blend, baking powder, vanilla and the softened dates with their soaking liquid. I use a stand mixer with scraping beaters to keep the mixture smooth, but a hand whisk works fine too.

You can bake the pudding in any tin shape. A shallower rectangular tray gives thinner slices, while a smaller, deeper tin produces thicker slices — if you use a deeper tin, add roughly 15 minutes to the baking time and test with a skewer until it comes out clean.

How I made this pudding healthier

I try to slightly improve traditional recipes where I can. For this pudding I reduced the sugar and swapped brown sugar for coconut sugar, which I find gentler on blood sugar for some people. I use a wholegrain gluten-free flour blend rather than refined white blends. Wholegrains contribute fibre, which is often missing on a gluten-free diet, and helps moderate the impact of sugars.

If you’re curious about gluten-free flour blends and how they affect baking, researching blends that include wholegrain flours can help your results and nutrition. If you enjoy this recipe, you might also like a free copy of my recipe book that covers gluten-free pastry, bread, pizza, Yorkshire puddings, scones, Victoria sponge, pancakes and gingerbread, along with a weekly newsletter full of recipe inspiration.

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