I think I mentioned before that my favourite thing about Christmas is all the desserts. I’m sure there is no surprise. As I understand it sticky date pudding is a traditional Christmas dessert in Australia. At one of the dental practices are used to work at every Christmas party somebody would bring sticky date pudding and everyone would go nuts for it. Personally I am not that much of a fan because I find it too sickly sweet. I’m definitely always more inclined for chocolate desserts but I did like the idea of trying a vegan and slightly healthier version for the many many people that are obsessed with sticky date pudding at Christmas.
The recipe packs more of a nutritious punch by using some almond butter and a little bit of chickpea flour. It’s also free of refined sugar (although still very sweet). I really liked the idea of using chickpea flour for all the nutrients. It acts as a good vegan egg replacer but unfortunately, I did think there was a little bit of an aftertaste in the pudding. I don’t think it’s too much of a big deal because the pudding is so sweet you probably won’t be able to taste it. However, if you do notice it, or hate chickpeas you can try substituting with psyllium husk or flax eggs instead. So love my Wholemeal spelt flour so you will find that I use it in my recipes a lot but If you would like to try and keep the recipe entirely gluten-free you can attempt to substitute the spelt flour with buckwheat flour or a gluten-free mix. Sticky date putting doesn’t need a lot of rising so I think any gluten-free flour I will work very well.
For the sauce on top I actually just used a store-bought date syrup which is made just entirely of dates. It’s very dark in colour looks a lot like chocolate syrup. I think it’s a much easier option but if you can’t find it or would like to make your own you can blend some dates maple syrup and almond milk until it becomes really smooth. You’ve just gotta make sure that your dates are nice and soft. I would recommend fresh dates if you can if not try boiling the dates in hot water for a little bit so that they soften. I also love sticky date pudding with a good vegan ice cream. I used salted caramel from Pana Organic but simple vanilla would be just as good.
This recipe is vegan, egg-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free and oil-free. Inspired by eightforestlane.
| Vegan Healthier Sticky Date Pudding | Print |
- 2 cups pitted dates
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 tsp bicarb soda
- ¾ cup wholemeal spelt flour
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup almond butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup chickpea flour
- Toppings:
- vegan ice cream
- date syrup
- Add dates, boiling water and bicarb soda in a bowl and set aside for 15 minutes until dates have softened.
- Once the dates are soft, strain and save the water. Finely chop up dates using a food processor.
- In a bowl add the spelt flour, coconut sugar, almond butter, vanilla and chickpea flour,
- Add in chopped dates and soaking water and mix until as smooth as possible alternatively you can add all the ingredients over the date mixture in the food processor and process until smooth.
- Divide Pour mixture into muffin tray (I used silicon moulds) and place in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Serve with vegan ice cream and date syrup. You can choose to make your own date syrup by combining dates, maple syrup and almond milk in a food processor (see description for more details)
