Apple Sticky Toffee Pudding (Ontario)

Over the years, I’ve eaten a lot of apple cake. While some of these cakes have been outstanding, others have left me wanting more flavour and depth. I’ve often felt that apple cake needed just one more thing to make it perfect, but it took me years to figure out what it was: toffee sauce. This recipe combines the somewhat ubiquitous apple cake with sticky toffee pudding.

1 cup Ontario apple cider (250 mL)
½ cup dried apples, chopped (125 mL)
2 tsp. baking soda (10 mL)
3 Tbsp. butter, room temperature (45 mL)
½ cup raw sugar (125 mL)
2 eggs
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached (310 mL)
2 tsp. baking powder (10 mL)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon (5 mL)
½ tsp. ground nutmeg (5 mL)
1½ cups Spy apples, peeled and chopped (375 mL)
¾ cup Ontario Northern pecans, chopped (180 mL)

Toffee Sauce:
6 Tbsp. butter (90 mL)
½ cup brown sugar (125 mL)
⅓ cup whipping cream (80 mL)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (5 mL)

In a saucepan, bring cider and dried apples to a boil. Remove from heat, carefully stir in baking soda. If you do this too quickly, it will foam over the top of the saucepan. Cool about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4).

Meanwhile, beat the butter and sugar until light. Add eggs, one at a time beating well. In a small bowl, whisk flour, unbleached and spices. Add flour alternately to the butter mixture with cider and dried apples. Add chopped apples and pecans. Pour into a greased 9” pan or individual ramekins.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until set in the middle.

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add brown sugar and cook until sugar is dissolved. Add whipping cream slowly and simmer until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve warm apple pudding drizzled with toffee sauce.

Makes 6-8 servings.