Sticky toffee pudding – the Paleo AIP way! (and vegan)
This is the cake I chose to make to see the start of 2018 and it was a great and sweet way to welcome the new year! It is a take on my chocolate cake and I am so happy it is working as a different recipe.
It has no added sugar at all, it all comes from the dates and the banana (which have a dual purpose of sweetening the cake and also acting as the egg replacement), so it is a “healthy” sticky toffee pudding. Healthy remains in ““ because it is still sugar, but it is not refined and it comes from whole foods. This means that whilst it will still raise your blood sugar levels, you get a lot of great nutrients from these sugar sources.
This is probably as healthy as cake can get!
Paleo cakes, especially AIP cakes, don’t always taste or have the texture of cake, but this one does. It’s a really light sponge. And the toffee sauce is so delicious, you keep going for more.
It is of course a sweet treat and when on a weight loss drive or when inflammation needs to be controlled, it should not be part of your daily menu. But happiness is also part of your health journey and this cake is perfect for special occasions and celebrations. It gets the thumbs up every time I serve, it makes regular occurrences at dinner parties I host. I love that it fulfils so many diet special needs or preferences and yet, everyone loves it. A win win on all fronts!
And did I mention it is so easy and quick to prepare?
Sticky toffee pudding - the AIP paleo vegan way!
Ingredients
- 3 cups Tiger Nut flour (can be substituted with Ground Almonds if not nut-free)
- 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 150 g dates (pitted)
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 3 bananas
- 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
- 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
For the toffee sauce
- 1 can full fat coconut milk (cream only)
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt (optional - it makes salted caramel)
Instructions
- Put the chopped dates in a bowl with the boiling water and the bicarb and leave for 30 mins
- In a blender, put the date and the liquid they're in, the bananas and the coconut oil and blend until smooth (ish - it's okay if some bits of dates remain)
- In a bowl, mix tiger nut flour and the blended date/banana mixture
- Add the apple cider vinegar, the batter will froth and become much lighter
- Put the batter in a greased baking tray (20 cm diameter ish) and bake for 40 mins at 180 degrees (C) or until a knife comes out dry.
- Leave to cool completely before removing from the tray
For the toffee sauce
- To make the toffee sauce, combine the ingredients in a sauce pan
- Bring to the boil and simmer on low heat for 20-30 mins (give it a stir from time to time) until it has thickened to a nice toffee sauce consistency.
Serving
- It can be enjoyed as is, warm or cold, and/or with some nice coconut whipped cream
Very tasty and really moist! I used casava flour as I didn’t have Tigernut flour. It didn’t appear to cook properly in the middle despite me adding 10 minutes to the cook time. Is it meant to be doughy and completely dense and wet in the middle? Or perhaps using Tigernut would help. Anyway, it was absolutely delicious and my partner who likes normal gluten cakes even said it was great! 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Cassava flour, I have found, does behave a little differently and is more “gooey”. If you eat ground almonds, maybe try 1/2 cassava, 1/2 ground almonds, or even add a bit of coconut flour which absorbs a lot of moisture (maybe a tablespoon?). But it is a fairly moist cake, even with tigernut flour.