This sweet slow cooker sticky date pudding is the perfect way to finish off a busy day. It is relatively easy to get cooking and tastes amazing.
This delicious pudding cooks to be incredibly moist and fluffy. By the end of cooking, you should also have a thick sweet sauce that matches the pudding perfectly. To top this dish off, I highly recommend serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Self-saucing puddings turn out absolutely great when they are cooked in a slow cooker. It is mainly due to how slow cookers keep the majority of the moisture inside the pot. The result is an incredibly moist and gooey pudding that will please anyone who loves sweets.
You will be able to feed six people with this delicious pudding. So, it is the perfect way to feed a crowd without needing lots of baking dishes.
The cooking times for this pudding is very forgiving thanks to the sauce. Just keep in mind the longer you cook it, the less sauce you will have by the end of cooking as the pudding will absorb it.
Accompaniments for Sticky Date Pudding
This pudding is perfect on its own and does not need anything extra to go with it. With that said, below are some delicious ideas on what you can do.
A scoop of ice cream goes perfectly on top of the pudding. It helps cool the pudding while also cutting through some of the sweetness. It is my favorite accompaniment, as you can tell in the photos.
Homemade custard is perfect drizzled over the top of the pudding. It matches nicely with the pudding sauce and helps takes the dish to another level. If you do not have the time, then use store-bought custard.
The extra accompaniments comes down to personal preferences, so pick whatever you like the most. Keep in mind that extras will add more calories to any slow cooker dessert.
Keeping Leftovers
Make sure you do not throw out any leftovers as they will reheat perfectly. Thanks to the pudding being really moist, you will not end up with dry leftovers.
Keep the leftovers stored covered in the fridge or freezer and reheat in the microwave or oven. If you cannot be bothered reheating the pudding, you will find that it is still surprisingly good cold.
The pudding should last for roughly three days in the refrigerator or three months in the freezer. These are rough estimates, so you may find it will spoil faster.
All the steps on how to make this sticky date pudding in the slow cooker are right below. Alternatively, be sure to check out the video below. It will take you through all the steps to making this delicious dessert.
Slow Cooker Sticky Date Pudding
Ingredients
- 250 g (8.8 oz) pitted dates, chopped
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 300 ml (10.1 fl oz) boiling water
- 100 g (3.5 oz) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 200 g (7.1 oz) brown sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 375 g (13.2 oz) self-rising flour
Sauce
- 150 g (5.3 oz) brown sugar
- 80 g (2.8 oz) golden syrup
- 750 ml (25.4 fl oz) boiling water
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the dates with the baking soda and boiling water.
- In a different bowl, add the butter, sugar, vanilla and beat together until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one by one until well combined.
- Add the flour, dates (including the water), and mix until well combined.
- Lightly grease a slow cooker and pour in the sticky date pudding mix.
- On top of the pudding mix, scatter the brown sugar and golden syrup.
- Slowly pour in the boiling water.
- Cook on low for 4 hours.
- Serve & Enjoy.
Recipe Tips
- To avoid having the eggs and butter split, make sure both your butter and eggs are at room temperature. If they do split, then do not be afraid to continue, there will be very little difference at the end of cooking.
- You can make this sticky date pudding gluten-free by merely exchanging the self-rising flour for a gluten-free version.
- If you do not like chunks of dates in your puddings, then you can blend the date mix before adding it to the flour.
- You can make this pudding in the slow cooker without the sauce. However, it might not be nearly as moist and gooey.
- The golden syrup can be replaced with honey or something similar. Be careful of molasses as it can be quite bitter.
Note: I use a 5.5L (6 Quart) slow cooker for all the recipes that I have on this website unless specified. If you have a smaller or larger slow cooker, then you might need to adjust the ingredients.
Nutrition Information
The information above is an estimate generated by an online nutrition calculator.
More Slow Cooker Puddings
If you are not feeling like dates, then there is a ton of other delicious puddings that you can cook in the slow cooker. For example, self-saucing chocolate pudding is one of my favorites and perfect for anyone who is a huge fan of chocolate desserts.
Another pudding that makes its own sauce is the banana pudding. It is very similar to this dessert but instead has an incredible banana flavor. There is a delicious caramel sauce to accompany the cake.
Personally, I absolutely love this slow cooker sticky date pudding, and I do hope that you will like it. If you have any feedback, tips, variations, then please feel free to leave a comment below.
What is Golden Syrup?
It is like treacle or honey, and both will be fine to substitute the golden syrup. You can get golden syrup at most supermarkets but depends on where you live.
This is a great recipe, I used good old Canadian maple syrup instead of the corn syrup, and coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and it came out fabulous. I also like to spice it up for Christmas with some cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg!
Can I double this recipe? Will it change the cooking time?
Yes it should still work fine. Most likely, it may require a 1-2 more hours but I would just keep an eye on it after the first 4 hours.
Has anyone made this recipe gluten free? I am thinking of making thus gluten free but I am not sure how it’ll turn out.
Olivia, I’m going to make it gluten free (so will add either an extra egg – which is a tip given to me a long time ago, or Xanthan gum). I’m going to use Almond flour and baking flour.
Does the pudding hold its shape? and how low will it keep? I’d like to make it for Christmas for about 12, so I will double the quantity.
Hi! I’m just about to try this recipe out! Does it freeze well if I want to wait till Christmas to eat?
I haven’t tested it to see if it freezes well but I can’t see why it wouldn’t. The sauce should stop it from drying out.
Just made the mixture And is ready to put in slow cooker but it is literally Light liquid is this right?
The pudding batter should be quite thick. The sauce will be like water but will thicken after a few hours of cooking. The video shows a good example of how it should look.
If the pudding batter is looking too liquid, add more flour until it is quite thick.
It only says 1 cup on the recipe? But in the video it has two? Just in case it’s a mistake I’m cooking mine now but with only one cup of flour
Hi Nicola,
Assuming we are talking about the flour, the recipe should say 375g (13.2 oz). Please correct me if I have misunderstood the question.
Hi, are the dates dried?
Yes the dates are dried.
How ‘wet’ should it be after 4 hours? I put a knife in as I would for a cake but the top is still rather raw. I guess I can just keep it on until more ‘solid’. Smelling yummy!
The top should be cake-like, but underneath the cake should be a sauce.
You may need to cook it for a bit longer. Some slow cookers cook faster than others, and mine might have been on the faster side of things. An extra hour or two low should ensure it’s cooked.
Thank you for noting the size of the slow cooker. Not all recipes do and it make a big difference!
Can pudding be placed in a soufflé dish and then lowered into crockpot to cook?
Yes, this will work. However, I recommend adding some water around the soufflé dish. It will create more of a steamed pudding, but the water will stop the crockpot’s ceramic pot from cracking.
Hi Gus
Do you need to place a towel under the lid.
wazza
I didn’t, and you probably don’t need to.
However, the towel will help reduce the build-up of liquid, resulting in a thicker sauce and a dryer cake.
I don’t have a slow cooker. Can I still make this in another way?
Yes, you should be able to bake it in the oven. I recommend roughly 50 minutes in the oven at 180°C (350°F), but the cooking time may differ slightly.
Makes a large amount! I would say enough for 8. Turned out really well, although a little bland for my taste. Next time I will add some clove, ginger and cinnamon. I will definitely make this again!