Sticky date and Guinness pudding with warm whiskey sauce

Name: Sticky date and Guinness pudding with warm whiskey sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: Serves 10
Ingredients: 110g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease; 255g pitted dates, finely chopped; 285ml Guinness (see tip); 1 tsp instant espresso powder; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 140g caster sugar; 3 medium eggs; 225g self-raising flour; Whipped cream to serve (optional); For the sauce; 170g unsalted butter; 85g demerara sugar; 3 tbsp double cream; 3 tbsp Irish whiskey; Small pinch sea salt flakes; Specialist kit; 23cm round cake tin

Cherie Denham

Published: 19 Feb 25
Updated: 26 May 25

This sticky date and Guinness pudding from chef and cookbook author Cherie Denham is the perfect cosy bake for chilly nights.

“Guinness takes pride of place in a lot of Irish kitchens because, rather than making things taste of stout, it adds an amazing depth and richness,” says Cherie. “When you taste this sweet pudding with the warm whiskey sauce, something wonderful happens.”

After growing up on a farm in Northern Ireland, Cherie went to Leiths cookery school in London and started a catering business before moving to Hampshire with her family. As her boys grew older Cherie ran a cookery demonstration business and she published her first cookbook The Irish Bakery last year. Follow Cherie on Instagram @cheriedenhamcooks.

Recipe taken from The Irish Bakery by Cherie Denham (Montgomery Press £27) and tested by delicious.

Serves 10
Prep time 15 min. Cook time 1 hour 10 min

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Ingredients

110g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
255g pitted dates, finely chopped
285ml Guinness (see tip)
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
140g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
225g self-raising flour
Whipped cream to serve (optional)

For the sauce

170g unsalted butter
85g demerara sugar
3 tbsp double cream
3 tbsp Irish whiskey
Small pinch sea salt flakes

Specialist kit

23cm round cake tin

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the cake tin.
Put the dates in a large heatproof bowl while you bring the Guinness to the boil in a saucepan. As soon as it boils, immediately pour it over the dates. Add the espresso powder, vanilla extract and bicarbonate of soda. Stir well and set aside.
Cream the 110g butter and 140g sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy (it’s easiest to use an electric mixer, but you could do it by hand with a wooden spoon). Add the eggs and sift in the flour. Gently mix to combine, then add the date mixture and mix again. Pour the batter, which will be very runny, into the prepared tin.
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 50-60 minutes until risen, firm to the touch and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside.
To make the whiskey sauce, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently until melted. Bring to the boil and cook for 1 minute to thicken it slightly.
Turn the cake out onto a serving plate, remove the baking paper, then slice and serve with the whiskey sauce and, if you like, whipped cream on the side.

Recipe from March 2025 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 521kcals
Fat: 27g (17g saturated)
Protein: 5.3g
Carbohydrates: 59g (40g sugars)
Fibre: 0.9g
Salt: 0.3g

delicious. tips

If you want, you can replace the Guinness with strong black tea.
You can make the pudding a day ahead, cover it with foil, then gently warm in a low oven.

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