Easy Sticky Toffee Pudding Method

Our answer

Step two of Nigella's Easy Sticky Toffee Pudding (from Nigella Bites and on the Nigella website) involves making the sponge batter. This is a fairly easy melt and mix method, where the wet ingredients (including melted butter) are mixed into the dry ingredients. This is quite a common method and has the advantage of not having to wait for butter to soften before creaming it.

However we suspect it is actually step 3 that may be slightly baffling. This is where boiling water is poured over the top of the unbaked pudding batter. Whilst it may sound a little strange, it does help to make the sauce. As the pudding cooks, the sponge rises up through the liquid. In the meantime the water combines with the butter and sugar dotted over the sponge batter and transforms into a rich, toffee-like sauce underneath the sponge. This type of pudding is known as "self-saucing" pudding.