Rice Cooker Sticky Toffee Pudding

recipe hero image
6
Prep 30 mins
Cook 1 hr

Ingredients

For the date puree
225 g pitted dates
4 g baking soda
375 g boiling water

For the cake
75 g granulated sugar
5 g salt
4 g vanilla extract
100 g eggs (about 2 large eggs)
85 g cold unsalted butter
110 g all-purpose flour
14 g baking powder

For the toffee
100 g dark muscovado sugar (or 80g dark brown sugar plus 20g molasses)
25 g unsalted butter
50 g heavy cream
25 g whiskey
Flaky salt, as needed

Steps

1
Add dates and baking soda to a blender, pour in boiling water from a tea kettle, and blend from low to high until smooth. Start slow so the hot, sticky mixture does not erupt.
2
Cool the date purée below the melting point of butter, about 100°F.
3
Add sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, and cold butter, then blend on high until smooth and emulsified.
4
Reduce blender speed to a steady vortex, then pour the flour and baking powder into the center of the vortex to avoid it sticking to the sides of the pitcher, then blend just until combined.
5
Pour batter into a nonstick rice cooker bowl (if the bowl is not nonstick, butter and flour it first).
6
Cook on cake mode until the center is above 185°F, about 1 hour (use porridge or steam mode if cake mode is unavailable).
7
Cool the cake fully to room temperature, or chill until cold. Slap the side of the bowl firmly to loosen the cake, then invert onto a plate.
8
Microwave dark muscovado sugar, butter, and cream in the empty rice cooker bowl for 1 minute (a smooth metal bowl is fine). Stir until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, then stir in whiskey.
9
Return the cake to the bowl, browned side down, so it can soak up the toffee. Put the bowl back in the rice cooker and hold on keep warm mode until ready to serve.
10
Invert the cake onto a serving plate and finish with flaky salt. Serve with an extra batch of toffee on the side for a more generously sauced pudding.

Notes

Baking soda and boiling water soften the dates and help them blend into a smooth purée. The alkaline mixture also deepens the color and flavor. Let the purée cool before adding the eggs and butter; if it is hot enough to melt the butter on contact, the batter loses the solid fat crystals that help stabilize tiny air bubbles during mixing. When the purée is cool enough for the butter to blend in as solid fat, those air cells survive; as the cake heats, carbon dioxide from the baking powder enlarges them before the egg and starch set the crumb, producing a cake-like texture instead of a dense, gummy set. Rice cookers decide when to stop heating by watching the temperature of the metal bowl. In a basic rice cycle, the bowl stays near the boiling point of water while rice is wet, then climbs above boiling once the water is absorbed, which tells the cooker to shut off. Cake batter does not behave like rice, so a basic rice cycle can stop too soon. Cake, porridge, and steam modes keep applying heat longer, which gives the batter time to set.