Sticky Toffee Pear Pudding

As the leaves turn golden and the evenings draw in, there’s something rather lovely about a pudding that fills the kitchen with the scent of warm spices and toffee. This sticky toffee pear pudding is just the sort of comforting, generous dessert our grandmother Ivy would have loved - utilising hand-picked poached pears nestled into a rich date sponge and plenty of dark, buttery toffee sauce poured over the top. It’s autumn in a pudding.

For the pears

6 pears, peeled

200ml dry cider

200g caster sugar

Pared peel of 1 unwaxed lemon

Pared peel of 1 unwaxed orange

4 cardamom pods

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For the pudding

200g Ivy's Reserve salted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

250g stoned dates, roughly chopped

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp vanilla extract

50ml brandy

225g soft light brown sugar

4 medium eggs

225g plain flour

50g walnuts toasted and roughly chopped

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground ginger

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For the toffee sauce

150g soft light brown sugar

50g Ivy's Reserve salted butter

1 tbsp black treacle

225ml double cream

Begin by prepping the pears. Use a small, sharp knife or melon baller to remove the pips from the pears through the base of each fruit. Nestle the pears snuggle in a saucepan. Pour over the cider and sugar. Top with 400ml of water and submerge the citrus peels and cardamom into the liquid. Cut a piece of parchment to fit snugly over the pears and tuck inside the lip of the saucepan. Bring the liquid to the boil, then simmer very gently for 10 minutes, or until the sugar is totally dissolved. Allow the pears to cool completely in the liquid. You can poach the pears up to three days in advance, and keep them covered in their poaching liquid in an airtight container in the fridge before making the rest of the pudding.  

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Use butter to grease a deep, rectangular baking tin (roughly 30 x 20cm) and line with baking parchment. Tip the dates into a heatproof bowl with the bicarbonate of soda and vanilla, then pour over the brandy, and 200ml just boiled water from the kettle. Set aside to soak for 30 minutes.

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Preheat the oven to 180°C.

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Tip the dates and all of their soaking liquid into a foodprocessor. Pulse a few times to roughly chop the dates, then scoop out halfinto a bowl. Blitz the remaining date mixture to a smooth puree and pour intothe bowl with the chopped dates. Stir to combine.

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In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together using an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and whisk to incorporate fully between each additional egg. Fold through the flour, walnuts, baking powder, spices, date mixture and a large pinch of salt (we used Halen Môn Smoked Salt). Pour the batter into the prepared tin, then lift the pears out their liquid and lower into the batter, stalks pointing up and spacing them evenly around the tin. Level the surface of the batter with a spatula (taking care around the pears) and bake for 30 minutes, until just set and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Any extra poaching liquid can be used to poach other fruits, such as plums or figs.

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While the pudding bakes, make the sauce. Add the sugar, butter and treacle to a small saucepan and warm over a medium heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Bubble for a few minutes, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour in the cream and simmer for a few minutes until the sauce is dark and thick. When the pudding has 8 minutes left in the oven, remove it and pour over ½ of the toffee sauce. Return it the oven for the final 8 minutes, then leave to cool for 5 minutes before serving with cream or ice cream and the remaining sauce in a jug for pouring over at the table.