Gluten-free Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe - BEST EVER! (2024)

Gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe, anyone? It’s a sweet, sticky and super moist sweet treat that nobody would know is Coeliac-friendly and wheat-free too. It’s also simple to make this dairy free and low FODMAP with a few simple swaps.

Gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe – this one is super easy to make and one bake can easily serve up to 12 people. This recipe doesn’t use dates either, so it’s incredibly simple to make!

I think I’ve probably seen a sticky toffee pudding on 95% of dessert menus at every restaurant/pub I’ve ever been to. But out of all those times, it’s been gluten-free 0% of the time… 🙁

(which is totally unacceptable in my opinion – especially when making a gluten-free sticky toffee pudding makes zero difference to taste or texture)

The sponge is so light, springy and bouncy and once that sticky sauce is poured on top of it, it just becomes soooo moist and sweet. The longer you let that sticky sauce soak in, the better FYI.

So how is this never a gluten-free option on dessert menus? It’s an absolute doddle to make as well, so there really is no excuse! Here’s a few reasons you need to make this if you weren’t convinced already:

Why make my gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe?

• It’s gluten-free, but nobody would ever know… yep, muggles will happily eat this too, so no need to make yourself a separate dessert!
• The pudding itself is super soft, light and fluffy, with tons of sticky toffee sauce that soaks into it. Pure heaven.
• Unlike sticky toffee pudding that you make in individual pudding tins – you make this in one big traybake. That makes it much easier/quicker to make and you don’t need about 6 pudding tins to make this!
• This recipe is incredibly easy to make dairy-free or low FODMAP with a few simple swaps. And you’d never notice the difference.
• You don’t need dates for this recipe which only makes it easier and quicker to make too.
• Bake this and it’ll serve up to 12 people – just add vanilla ice cream or custard for the ultimate finishing touch.

So what does a gluten-free sticky toffee pudding taste like? Exactly like a muggle sticky toffee pudding – but I’ll try and elaborate more than that.

The pudding is incredibly moist, soft and light with a rich flavour thanks to the black treacle, with delicate caramel notes from the light brown sugar – perfect for soaking up all that sticky toffee sauce!

Pour on that sauce and it instantly adds a sweet, sticky, deep toffee flavour, making this the king of all desserts.

Thrown on a scoop of cooling vanilla ice cream and you instantly get that lovely, creamy contrast of flavour (and temperature) against that warming pudding. Custard also works perfectly here too.

So what are you waiting for? Here’s everything you’ll need for this recipe – consider this your shopping list!

Gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe: Ingredients

• large eggs
• light brown sugar
• butter, softened (dairy free alternative if necessary)
• gluten-free self raising flour
• cinnamon (optional)
• ginger
• bicarbonate of soda
• gluten-free baking powder
• black treacle
• milk (dairy-free if necessary)
• double cream (dairy free cream or lactose-free cream if necessary)
• vanilla ice cream or custard to serve (dairy-free or lactose-free if necessary)

Looking for the measurements? Keep scrolling until you see the recipe card for the measurements and method…

So I thought I’d kick things off with a little frequently asked questions section – if you just want the recipe, then keep scrolling.

But I’ve thrown in some tips here that will be really helpful if this is your first time baking this, or you want to adapt it. So here they are!

Gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe: Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this recipe gluten-free? Is it suitable for Coeliacs?

It is gluten-free, though nobody would know just by tasting it – trust me!

Bear in mind that minimising cross-contamination is hugely important if you’re Coeliac or making this for someone who is. Here’s some tips from Coeliac UK on minimising the risk of cross contamination:

Also, make sure that all ingredients used don’t have any gluten-containing ingredients. Then make that that they also don’t have a ‘may contain’ warning for gluten, wheat, rye, barley, oats (which aren’t gf), spelt and khorasan wheat (aka Kamut).

Here’s some more info from Coeliac UK on identifying safe gluten-free products.

Can I make your gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe dairy free?

Of course you can – and this recipe is actually really simple to make dairy free with a few simple swaps.

For the pudding itself, simply substitute butter and milk for any kind of dairy-free margarine and dairy-free milk. For the sticky toffee sauce, simply use dairy-free margarine again and any kind of dairy-free cream instead of regular cream.

If serving up with custard or vanilla ice cream, make sure they’re dairy-free too. Bird’s custard powder is not only gluten-free, but it’s dairy free too FYI – just make it with dairy-free milk.

Can I make your gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe vegan?

Yep! If you follow the instructions above to make this recipe dairy free,then all you’ve got left to contend with is the eggs.

Here’s a few ideas you can use as egg replacements, so each of these = 1 egg.

• 3 tablespoons of aquafaba (whisked until frothy) – water from a can of chickpeas. Keep the chickpeas for a future dinner!
• Egg replacement powder – I’d recommend using Orgran as it’s gluten-free.
• 1 tablespoon of chia/flax seeds mixed with 2 tablespoons of water and left for 10 minutes in the fridge.
• 3 tablespoons of applesauce.

So use one of those egg replacement options and you’ve got a gluten-free AND vegan sticky toffee pudding! I haven’t tested all of these egg alternatives so let me know how you get on in the comments below this post.

Can I make this recipe low FODMAP?

As this recipe doesn’t use dates, it can easily be made low FODMAP. For any dairy in this recipe (milk and cream) just make sure that you use lactose-free equivalents.

Black treacle can be high FODMAP in larger serving sizes (anything over 5g), but if sticking to the serving size of this dessert (one-twelfth of the finished dish), then it will be completely elimination phase friendly.

Is your gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe nut-free?

Yep, this is a nut-free recipe as far as ingredients go, BUTmake sure you check the ingredients label on ALL the products you use to bake this cake just to be safe.

Even if the products don’t contain nuts, they may have a ‘may contain nuts’ warning due to being produced in a factory that handles nuts.

You can never be too careful so always read the labels on everything first!

Can I make your gluten-free sticky toffee pudding in a food processor or standing mixer?

Of course you can. However, I don’t use a standing mixer or food processor to make the cake mixture personally – I use an electric whisk.

(here’s a link to the electric whisk I use)

Can I make your gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe by hand?

You can of course, bake this without any assistance from any appliance – just a good ol’ fashioned hand whisk will do.

Just make sure you give it a lot of welly, otherwise your mixture won’t be consistent and might not bake properly.

Do I need any special equipment to bake your gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe?

The only thing you’ll need is a baking tin that’ll fit a traybake-style pudding. Here’s a link to the one I use – it’s 11 inches by 7 inches (28cm x 18cm).

Can I bake this using the all-in-one method?

In case you didn’t already know, the all-in-one method involves bunging all your sponge ingredients into a bowl at once and mixing them together. That’s instead of adding them gradually.

This is one of those recipes that isn’t far off using an all-in-one method with one caveat: please make sure that you add the milk gradually!

There’s more ingredients in the pudding part of this bake than there is with a regular sponge cake. And as you might know already, the more ingredients, the more important that consistent mixing becomes.

You certainly don’t want lumpy cake batter, or any unmixed parts – gradually adding in the milk whilst mixing is a really easy way to avoid this.

Does this recipe need xanthan gum?

Nope. You’ll see xanthan gum in a lot of my recipes as it’s an essential ingredient in gluten-free baking.

Without gluten to bind the cake together, you can be left with a very loose and crumbly cake texture which is far from ideal. So why isn’t there any in this recipe?

With this recipe, as we’re using gluten-free self-raising flour, you’ll find that it already has a little xanthan gum in it already. So there’s no need to add an extra for this one, I’ve found.

Do I need weighing scales to bake your gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe?

In short… yes, yes and yes! And I wouldn’t advise attempting any my recipes without them.

A lot of work went into fine tuning ratios and quantities and for me, baking is all about consistency and precision. I want you to make this recipe and for it to turn out EXACTLY like mine did.

I’d recommending using digital cooking scales like these so you know you’re getting an accurate measurement and replicating my recipe as accurately as poss.

Can I bake your gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe with less sugar / without sugar?

I can definitely understand the need to reduce sugar in our foods, but this is one of the recipes where I wouldn’t advise it. This wouldn’t be ‘sticky’ or ‘toffee’ without sugar, all you’d have left would be a dry pudding!

Of course, the sugar isn’t just for sweetness – it’s integral to the structure of the cake once baked and is super important. This bake won’t function without sugar!

Simply go easy on the sauce when you serve and skip serving it with custard or vanilla ice cream.

How long can I keep your gluten-free sticky toffee pudding for?

I’ve kept my gluten-free sticky toffee pudding for 3-5 days in an air-tight container with no problems. I also keep the sauce separately in an airtight container as well.

If you need to keep it any longer than that, I’d highly recommend freezing it (see advice below for doing that)

When the sponge starts getting a little dry, it’s probably starting to get past its best.

Can I freeze your gluten-free sticky toffee pudding?

Of course! I’ve frozen it for up to 2-3 months no problem. Ideally, freeze the sauce and the pudding separately and slice it up first before freezing. Then, you can easily defrost a few slices at a time instead of the entire thing.

When you want to eat it, each slice should take around 3 hours to defrost at room temperature. Once the sauce has defrosted, simply heat it up in the microwave or on the hob until hot and gently bubbling.

Can I print your gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe?

Of course! Just hit the print button located on the recipe below (otherwise you might end up printing this entire post which would probably make your printer go into early retirement)

Gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe: Method

Oh and here’s a printable version of my gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe. Please remember to give it 5 stars if you tried it and enjoyed it as it helps people know it’s worth trying too! ⭐️

Thanks for reading how to make my gluten-free sticky toffee pudding recipe!If you make it, I’d love to see how it turned out so don’t forget to take a snap of your bakes and tag me on Instagram!

Any questions about the recipe? Please do let me know by following meInstagram and leaving me a comment!

Thanks for reading,

Becky xxx

Oh and don’t forget to pin this for later!