Which British dessert is a moist date sponge traditionally served with toffee sauce?

Sticky toffee pudding is a British dessert made from a moist date sponge and served with toffee sauce.

The pudding is commonly associated with Britain’s restaurant and pub cuisine. Its sponge is prepared with chopped dates, which soften during cooking and give the dessert a rich, moist texture. It is usually served warm, often with vanilla ice cream or pouring cream alongside the sauce.

The dessert’s exact origin is disputed. The Sharrow Bay Country House hotel in England has claimed an early connection, while other accounts link its development to restaurants in Lancashire during the 20th century. These competing claims mean that a single inventor is not firmly established.

Sticky toffee pudding is sometimes confused with treacle sponge, but the two are different desserts. Treacle sponge usually uses golden syrup in a steamed sponge, whereas sticky toffee pudding is defined by its date-based sponge and toffee sauce.