Pumpkin Spice Sticky Toffee Pudding With Rum Caramel
This pumpkin spice sticky toffee pudding is the perfect Autumn dessert! There’s a spiced pumpkin sponge cake & a rich, rum caramel sauce, plus a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
This post contains affiliate links.
You really can’t beat a good ,sticky toffee pudding & this one is perfect for pumpkin spice lovers! It’s full of the stuff…
Now if you’ve never a sticky toffee pudding before, you’re missing out! This classic British dessert consists of a squidgy sponge cake which is served with a generous amount of rich toffee sauce. Usually the sponge is made with dates but this version is made with a tin of pumpkin puree & plenty of pumpkin spice instead. Also, the toffee sauce is flavoured with spiced rum, vanilla & a good pinch of sea salt so it complements the pumpkin sponge perfectly. The butter in the pumpkin spice sponge has been browned as well, for even more flavour!
I like to serve sticky toffee pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream but it’s just as good with some homemade vanilla custard or a drizzle of pouring cream. If you fancy making your own vanilla ice cream, check out my homemade vanilla ice cream recipe!
For more pudding inspiration, check out our ever growing collection of dessert recipes! There’s a wide range of desserts here, from classic crumbles, pies, homemade ice creams & lots more…
What You’ll Need
- Pumpkin Spice – We’re making our own pumpkin spice, with ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg & cloves!
- Pumpkin Puree – For the sponge, you’ll need a whole tin of pumpkin puree (the stuff you get from the supermarket!). I used America’s finest pumpkin puree.
- Rum – Used to flavour the toffee sauce. I’d recommend using a good quality spiced rum as this complements the pumpkin spice nicely.
- Butter – We’re using unsalted butter in both the sponge cake & the toffee sauce, as this allows us to control the salt content. We’ll be adding salt in ourselves.
- Sugar – We’re using dark brown sugar in the cake batter & rum caramel sauce, for its’ rich, molasses flavour! You’ll also need black treacle for the cake batter & golden syrup for the sauce.
- Sour Cream – Adding sour cream to cake batter gives the sponge extra moisture, without affecting the consistency of the batter. Make sure to use room temperature sour cream as this will mix into the batter more evenly.
- Eggs – This recipe uses large eggs, which should each weigh around 50 grams out of the shell.
- Flour – We’re using plain flour in the cake batter then adding in our own raising agents, instead of using self raising flour. I find that this allows us to be more accurate with how much baking powder & bicarb we use.
- Raising Agents – Speaking of raising agents, we’re using both baking powder & bicarbonate of soda. Bicarb needs acidity to activate, which in this recipe is in the form of sour cream & the dark brown sugar.
Pumpkin Spice Sponge Cake
Let’s talk about the pumpkin spiced sponge cake because it’s really rather tasty! This is based on a classic sticky toffee pudding sponge but instead of dates, this sponge is made with a tin of pumpkin puree. The pumpkin makes the sponge extra moist & there’s plenty of pumpkin spice, brown sugar, treacle & brown butter in the batter as well. It’s all the flavours of Autumn in a traybake.
The great thing about the batter for this sponge, is that it’s mixed in just one bowl! Basically, you whisk the wet ingredients together until smooth & combined then sift in the dry ingredients & whisk again, to combine. That’s it! The batter then gets mixed in a 9″ x 13″ baking tin which makes enough sponge cake for 12 generous portions, so it’s perfect for serving a crowd!
Rum Caramel Sauce
This toffee sauce is flavoured with a spiced rum which complements the warming spices in the pumpkin spice sponge cake perfectly! This is an all in one style of toffee sauce, which means that all of the ingredients are added into a pan then cooked on the stove, into a rich, glossy caramel sauce! It’s a super quick way to make a toffee sauce & it’s a lot easier than making a direct caramel then stirring in cream & butter.
How To Reheat Sticky Toffee Pudding
A sticky toffee pudding is one of those desserts that’s great for making ahead of time & the flavour actually improves when it sits in the fridge, as it gives the flavours chance to develop! There’s also a few different ways to reheat this dessert, whether it’s warming a single portion up in a microwave or several portions in the oven.
Reheating In The Microwave
Using a microwave is perfect for when you only want to reheat a couple of portions of sticky toffee pudding! To do this, place a portion of sponge into a bowl, add a spoonful of toffee sauce on top then microwave on high for 30 seconds – 1 minute until piping hot. If you’re reheating more than 1 portion, microwave the portions of sponge & sauce separately or microwave individual portions, one at a time.
Reheating In The Oven
Using an oven is best for reheating several portions of sticky toffee pudding at once. To reheat sticky toffee pudding in an oven, place pieces of the sponge into a heatproof dish, add a spoonful of toffee sauce on top of each portion then cover the dish with foil & bake at 160°c/320°f until piping hot. Warm extra sauce up on the stove whilst the pudding bakes then pour extra on top, to serve!
Serving Suggestions
Like all sticky toffee puddings, this pumpkin spice one goes great with something creamy to cut through all of that sweetness! We’re talking a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of pouring cream or a generous amount of vanilla custard. It’s good with all of these!
Tips & Tricks
- For the best flavour, make your own pumpkin spice. It’s really easy to do!
- Get the sponge into the oven straight away. The bicarbonate of soda will start to react as soon as the batter is mixed, so it needs to be cooked as soon as possible for the best rise.
- Bake the sponge cake until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (there may be a few moist crumbs) but avoid opening the oven door for at least 30 minutes, as this can make the cake sink.
- Let the cake cool before cutting into portions, as it will be easier to cut once cold/at room temperature.
- Add a spiced rum to the toffee sauce. This complements the pumpkin spice cake perfectly!
- Serve your sticky toffee pudding with something creamy (like ice cream), to cut through the sweetness from the cake & caramel sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
To cook sticky toffee pudding in an Aga, bake the sponge on a grid shelf placed onto the floor of the baking oven. Cook the rum caramel sauce on the simmering plate to dissolve the sugar then boil on the boiling plate.
Pumpkin spice sticky toffee pudding is best eaten within 3 days. Both the sponge & caramel sauce need to be stored in the fridge.
Yes, rum caramel sauce can be made without rum. Simply leave it out! The toffee sauce will still taste really good.
Equipment Used
Please note that these are affiliate links & I may make a small commission if you make a purchase using these links, at no extra cost to you. For more information, click here.
More Dessert Recipes To Try!
- Banana Sticky Toffee Pudding With Miso Caramel
- Blackberry, Pear & Apple Crumble
- Dark Chocolate Mousse
- Classic Cherry Pie
- Brown Butter Hobnob Cheesecake
- Apple & Walnut Strudel
If you have enjoyed this pumpkin spice sticky toffee pudding recipe, it would mean a lot if you could leave a review & rating. And if you’d like to stay up to date with future recipes, follow us on Instagram & TikTok!
Pumpkin Spice Sticky Toffee Pudding With Rum Caramel
Equipment
- 9"x13" Baking Tin
- Mixing Bowls
- Saucepans
- Sieve
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- ½ tsp Ground Allspice
- ¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg
- ¼ tsp Ground Cloves
Pumpkin Spice Sponge
- 250 g Unsalted Butter
- 425 g Pumpkin Puree (1 Tin)
- 300 g Dark Brown Sugar
- 100 g Black Treacle
- 4 Large Eggs (See Notes)
- 275 g Sour Cream (Room Temperature)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 375 g Plain Flour
- 2½ tsp Baking Powder
- ¾ tsp Bicarbonate Of Soda
- 1 tsp Table Salt
Rum Caramel Sauce
- 600 g Double Cream
- 225 g Dark Brown Sugar
- 200 g Unsalted Butter
- 150 g Golden Syrup
- 1 tbsp Rum (See Notes)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Paste
- ½ tsp Fine Sea Salt
Instructions
Pumpkin Spice
- Add all of the ingredients for the pumpkin spice into a small bowl, mix to combine then set to one side.
Pumpkin Spice Sponge
- First, brown the butter. To do this, chop the butter into evenly sized pieces then place into a medium saucepan. Place over a medium heat & allow to melt, stirring regularly with a spatula. Keep cooking, until the butter starts to foam, smells nutty & you can see that the milk solids in the bottom of the pan have turned golden brown. Once cooked, transfer the butter to a bowl & leave to cool slightly.
- Whilst the butter is cooling, preheat an oven to 175°c/155°c fan (350°f/310°f) and line a 9" x 13" baking tin with baking parchment.
- Add the pumpkin puree into a large mixing bowl with the brown butter, brown sugar & treacle then whisk well by hand, to combine.
- Next, add the eggs, sour cream & vanilla into the pumpkin then whisk again, to incorporate.
- Sift the flour, baking powder & bicarbonate of soda into the batter then add in the salt & all of the pumpkin spice. Whisk gently, until the flour is just incorporated.Give the sides of the bowl a quick scrape down with a spatula, to make sure all the flour has been incorporated!
- Once mixed, immediately pour the batter into the lined tin then bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.The bicarb will start to react as soon as the batter is mixed, so make sure to get it in the oven as quickly as possible!
- Once cooked, let the sponge cool completely in the tin before cutting into portions. Or store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Rum Caramel Sauce
- Place the cream, sugar, butter & golden syrup into a medium sized saucepan then set over a low heat.
- Cook until the butter has melted & the sugar has dissolved, stirring regularly then increase the heat to medium-high & bring to the boil. Cook for 2 minutes then remove from the heat.
- To finish the sauce, stir in the rum, vanilla paste & salt.The caramel can be served immediately or left to cool then stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To Reheat – In A Microwave
- Place a portion of sponge into a bowl, top with a generous amount of rum caramel then microwave on high for 30 seconds – 1 minute, until hot. Serve with a scoop of ice cream!
To Reheat – In An Oven
- Preheat an oven to 160°c/140°c fan (320°f/284°f).
- Place portions of sponge into a heatproof dish then add a spoonful of toffee sauce on top of each.
- Cover the dish with foil & bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until piping hot.
- Whilst the sponge is being reheated, warm some extra caramel sauce up (either in a pan on the stove, or in a jug in a microwave).
- To serve, place the portions of sponge onto plates then pour over some extra rum caramel. Serve with scoops of ice cream.
