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Posted November 1, 2022 by admin
Having a sweet tooth and not finding something satisfying to eat may enhance a great war sometimes. We are here to help you keep your dish sweet enough to enjoy it like always.
Sticky toffee pudding is mainly famous for the naturally sweet flavor of dates. But if you are looking for substitutes for dates, some related dry fruits like raisins, Medjool dates, apricots, or dried berries might help replace dates and still make the pudding tasty and flavorful.
This blog talks about 9+ substitutes for dates in sticky toffee pudding.
Let’s dive right in!
Sticky toffee pudding is a British dessert introduced in the United Kingdom. It looks like a soft sponge cake filled with toffee sauce on top. As it is mostly popular for the flavor of dates and its sweetness, people in Australia and New Zealand call it sticky date pudding.
Dates are usually used in sticky toffee pudding for the sugariness as it is healthy enough and does not contain the actual sugar. That’s why many people prefer using dates in their pudding. It creates a soft and doughy texture with a candied taste.
It may not be easy to replace dates with other fresh or dry fruits because of their natural taste. But if you can not find it sometimes, then no need to worry about that.
The following are replacements for dates that will produce a similar taste and texture in your recipe. You can discover which date replacement is best suitable for your dish.
Raisins can be a great substitute for dates in many recipes. They come from dried grapes, which are healthy in minerals and vitamins. Its naturally sweet flavor makes the dish delicious and mouth-watering.
You can add dried raisins to light meals like cereals, oatmeals, salads, and many more.
Replacing them with dates in sticky toffee pudding is a good option because they will create the same chewy texture as dates. You might want to increase the quantity while cooking because raisins are slightly less sweet than dates.
Another good substitute for dates is dried apricots, mild and sweet in flavor and easily replaceable for dates in baking goods, shakes, salads, or cereals.
For sticky toffee pudding, you can use dried apricots, specifically the non-sulphuric and dark-colored ones, as an alternative for dates. They do not taste as sweet as dates but still turn out to make the pudding tasty with a soft and gooey texture.
Dried cranberries are the best choice if you search for a less sweet substitute. All dried berries are considered a good substitute for dates, but cranberries are the most used ones.
Dried cranberries are a kind of dried fruit that are less likely to get impaired than fresh fruits. Their unsweetened and bitter flavor is best-suitable for recipes that require dates.
You can easily replace them with dates in sticky toffee pudding and see the best results!
Date syrup is the best substitute for dates only if you want the same taste. You can use it as a topping on many sweet dishes like pancakes, cookies, or even salads.
Its texture is all soft and pulpy. Another great thing about date syrup is that its flavor is toffee, sticky and sweet, just like honey, and you can also use this syrup in honey shortbread cookies to try something new.
So, if you are looking for a substitute that does not change the savor of your dish, then you must go for date syrup.
Read More: Substitutes for Date Paste
Dried cherries are also a great substitute for dates because of their naturally sweet flavor. They are always ready and available, so it is not hard to find them.
Adding dried cherries to the sticky toffee pudding will give the same squishy texture, but since they are less sweet than dates, you might want to increase the quantity.
Tip: If you only have cherries at home, do not worry; put some cherries in the sunlight for a few hours to let them dry, and enjoy freshly dried cherries at home.
Jujube, also known as Chinese date, is a tasty dry fruit used in most recipes that call for dates. It is an acceptable replacement if you can not find other date replacements.
Moreover, jujube is high in fiber and low in calories. So it is healthy enough to add to your dish. But it is a bit different in taste and texture, which does not mean it will ruin the flavor of your food.
For example, using jujube in sticky toffee pudding will result pleasingly even though it will not be the same as dates. Still, it will produce a mouth-watering taste.
Cascara is a dried skin of coffee cherry that is getting popular today. People in some countries use it for tea, which is called coffee cherry tea. It is comparable to dates because of its slightly sweet flavor.
Not only in tea but cascara can be used in other recipes, such as baking goods. If you run out of dates or other options, you can think of cascara as a date replacement.
Cascara might not be a close substitute, but it will do its job in the recipes that require dates.
Currans is similar to raisins but comes in a small variety of grapes. Yet they make a good substitute for dates. You can use currants in different recipes that need dates.
One thing to know is that currants are strong in flavor with a bit of sweetness. So, if you are fond of balancing the texture and sweet level in your sticky toffee pudding, then currants are the right option for you.
Prunes are another good substitute for dates as they are easy to find and available in various date-like flavors. They are made from plums, even though not all kinds of plums can turn into dried prunes.
You can use dried prunes in sticky toffee pudding to replace dates because they have a universal sweet flavor compared to dates. The texture will stay the same as the dates so you can choose this option.
Medjool dates are similar to regular dates but a bit softer while eating. There is no difference in taste when you replace them with dates in any recipe. You can also try making Medjool date candy if you like sweets.
In sticky toffee pudding, Medjool dates are likely to be a good replacement because its chewy and soft texture is the same, also naturally sweeter, but does not contain high nutritional benefits like dates.
The given substitutes can also be used as substitutes for Medjool dates.
The most-liked sweet dish, sticky toffee pudding, everyone’s favorite across the world, can be made without dates if you are running out of them. The substitutes mentioned above for dates are the most suitable ones you must try.
Do not worry about the flavor and texture because any replacement you use will bring its mouth-watering taste to your recipe.