Low Carb Sticky Toffee Pudding

If you’ve ever watched an episode of Masterchef you know that at some point in the season contestants are going to be asked to do something incredibly difficult…

Bake a perfectly delicious classic: Sticky Toffee Pudding for Mr. Gordon Ramsey himself. And with what seems like very little time to get it right

Luckily we’re not sweating it out on screen while the clock runs out, but we can still enjoy our own sticky toffee pudding behind the scenes at home

My version is mostly sugar free for healthier blood sugar levels, but it still feels decadent and rich

Especially if you enjoy it warm with toasty toffee sauce and a generous scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream

Ingredients Needed For Low Carb Sticky Toffee Pudding

Mejool Dates – Pitted mejool dates are the “sticky” component in sticky toffee pudding. They add a lovely gooey texture and natural sweetness so we don’t need to add as much sweetener.

Hot Water – Softens the dates

Baking Soda – Breaks down the dates so they can be pureed smooth before mixing into the cake

Almond Flour – The main flour in this sticky toffee pudding. It keeps the cake fluffy and low carb

Protein Powder – A few tablespoons of unflavored whey protein improves the texture.

Baking Powder – Leavening for the sticky toffee pudding

Salt – Provides balance and enhances flavor

Brown Sugar Substitute – I prefer an Erythritol based brown sugar substitute. For this recipe I use my homemade light brown sugar.

Pumpkin Spice – I enjoy a heavily spiced sticky toffee pudding so I add pumpkin spice, but if you don’t have it on hand you can swap it for cinnamon

Nutmeg – Freshly grated nutmeg adds to the warm spice flavors in this recipe

Xanthan Gum – A tiny amount of this ingredient has a huge payoff in this cake. Since our flour doesn’t have any gluten the xanthan gum adds structure to keep this cake light and fluffy.

Butter – Adds richness and moisture

Egg – For structure

Vanilla – Complements the flavors in this cake

Ingredients For The Sugar Free Toffee Sauce

Butter – Most toffee sauce recipes include butter, cream, brown sugar and vanilla that simmers on the stove to create a gorgeous caramel colored sauce.

Since our sugar free version uses less sweetener, the sauce isn’t as brown as classic toffee sauce.

That’s why I recommend browning half of the butter in the recipe to give the sauce a deeper color and more toasty caramel flavor

Brown Sugar Substitute – Any packable brown sugar substitute will work here. I prefer my homemade dark brown sugar recipe to give the sauce a better color and flavor

Heavy Cream – Keeps the sauce creamy and pourable

Vanilla – Adds creamy vanilla flavor

Salt – Enhances flavors in the toffee sauce

Dark Rum (Optional) – Adds depth of flavor to the sauce, but if you don’t have it additional vanilla would be delicious too

Top Tips For Making Sticky Toffee Pudding

1. Weigh The Ingredients

I encourage using a kitchen for all baking, but its especially important in gluten free baking.

Certain ingredients (like protein powder) can be difficult to measure accurately when using cups and tablespoons.

So for the best results with my recipes, I encourage you to use a kitchen scale.

2. Activate The Xanthan Gum

If you’ve ever used xanthan gum before, you know only a tiny amount is needed to achieve tons of thickening power

Well did you know it thickens even mooooore when mixed? Yup Mixing the xanthan gum for a minute or two “wakes it up” and really activates the thickening power!

Mix the xanthan gum into the spices and brown sugar (we don’t want any clumps) then proceed like normal with creaming the butter and sugar, followed by the eggs and pureed dates

Once all of the wet ingredients have been mixed incorporated, whisk the entire mixture for one full minute.

You should feel the batter get thicker as you mix. That’s the power of one little gum!

3. Add Sauce Right Before Serving

I enjoy the fudgy texture of the cake with the contrasting texture of the creamy toffee sauce so I like to add sauce right before serving. It soaks into the cake without making it mushy.

This is especially helpful for leftovers! Just warm the toffee pudding in the microwave, poke a few holes in the bottom, and add a nice drizzle of warm toffee sauce.

F.A.Q. About Sticky Toffee Pudding

Can I skip the protein powder? Protein powder does two things in this recipe. It lightens up the heaviness of the almond flour for a fluffier cake, and it soaks up lots of moisture. For that reason I don’t recommend leaving it out.

But if you don’t have any protein powder on hand you can use an equal amount of coconut flour instead.

How Do I Store Sticky Toffee Pudding?

I recommend adding the toffee sauce right before serving, so keep leftover sauce and toffee puddings in separate containers.

Keep the cake portion in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days, or up to a week in the fridge

Can the toffee sauce be stored at room temperature? The sauce is cream based so it must be stored in the fridge.

As always feel free to send me a quick DM on Instagram if you have any questions

Now lets get into the recipe!