Sticky Toffee Sheet Cake
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 10 to 12 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 12 servings
- Calories
- 749
- Total Fat
- 35
- Saturated Fat
- 22
- Carbohydrates
- 105
- Dietary Fiber
- 4
- Sugar
- 77
- Protein
- 7
- Cholesterol
- 158
- Sodium
- 453
- Total: 1 hr 20 min
- Active: 40 min
Ingredients
Date Cake:
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
3 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook’s Note), plus more for dusting the pan
1 pound pitted Medjool dates
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Toffee Sauce:
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
- For the date cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of a standard 18-by-13-inch baking sheet with butter and dust with flour, shaking out any excess. S+et aside.
- Place the dates and baking soda in a large bowl and pour in 2 cups of hot water. Let sit until the dates are very soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer the dates and any remaining liquid to a food processor. Process until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Beat the butter and brown sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until very creamy and light, about 2 minutes. Add the date purée and beat to combine (the mixture may look broken and separated, but that’s ok, it will come back together). Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each until just combined. Beat in the vanilla and flour mixture until just combined.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared baking sheet, smoothing and evening the top with an offset spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 30 to 35 minutes.
- For the toffee sauce: While the cake is baking, combine the butter, brown sugar, cream, vanilla and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once the mixture starts to simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring continually with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is deep golden brown, thickened slightly and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Keep warm over low heat.
- When the cake comes out of the oven and is still hot, poke holes all over the top of the cake with a skewer. Pour 1 cup of the toffee sauce over the top, then use a spatula to gently spread the toffee sauce evenly over the cake, pushing it all the way to the edges of the pan. Return the cake to oven and bake until the top starts to bubble all over, 6 to 10 minutes.
- For the whipped cream: Beat the cream, sugar and vanilla in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment until light and fluffy and it holds stiff peaks, about 4 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Serve the warm sheet cake with the remaining sticky toffee sauce for drizzling and dollop with whipped cream.
Cook’s Note
When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)