Sticky toffee pudding facts for kids
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| Alternative names | Sticky date pudding |
|---|---|
| Type | Pudding |
| Course | Dessert |
| Place of origin | England |
| Region or state | North West England |
| Created by | Patricia Martin |
| Main ingredients | Sponge cake, dates, toffee |
Sticky toffee pudding, often called STP or sticky date pudding in Australia and New Zealand, is a super yummy British dessert. It's made with a really moist sponge cake that has tiny pieces of dates mixed in. This delicious cake is then covered in a warm, sweet toffee sauce. People often enjoy it with creamy vanilla custard or cold vanilla ice cream. Many cooking experts think it's a true British classic, just like other famous puddings such as bread and butter pudding.
The Sweet Story of Sticky Toffee Pudding
The exact start of sticky toffee pudding is a bit of a mystery! No one is completely sure where it first came from, and people still debate its true origins.
Who Made the First Sticky Toffee Pudding?
One popular story gives credit to two people, Francis Coulson and Robert Lee. They started serving this dessert at their hotel, the Sharrow Bay Country House, in the beautiful Lake District area of North West England during the 1970s.
A famous food writer named Simon Hopkinson said that Francis Coulson told him he got the recipe from a woman named Patricia Martin. She lived in Claughton, a village in Lancashire. Patricia Martin had even put the recipe in a cookbook called The Good Food Guide Dinner Party Book. She first served the pudding at her own country hotel.
A Canadian Connection?
Interestingly, Francis Coulson's recipe for the pudding was very similar to Patricia Martin's, with only a small difference in the toffee sauce. Patricia Martin's son later told Simon Hopkinson that his mom originally got the recipe from two Canadian air force officers. These officers had stayed at her hotel during the Second World War.
Simon Hopkinson thought this Canadian link made a lot of sense. He pointed out that the cake part of sticky toffee pudding is more like an American muffin batter than a traditional English sponge cake. This suggests the recipe might have traveled across the Atlantic! So, while it's a British classic today, its roots might stretch all the way to Canada.
