Scooped Pear Sticky Toffee Pudding in Mugs
From Justine: From the first time I heard the words "sticky toffee pudding," I knew it was going to be one of my favorite desserts of all time. I'm just a toffee kind of girl. The use of a food processor makes this a quick batter, with the only real instructions being "throw everything in and pulse!" The toffee topping takes a bit longer, but you can work on that while the mugs are in the oven. This could be baked in a standard 8 by 8-inch baking dish (see note), but in mugs, it's automatically cozier. Plus, when you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, you get a three-layer bite of cake, toffee, and cream in every spoonful, which, conceptually, is one of this recipe's finest achievements.
Servings: 4 large mugs
Ingredients
- 1 or 2 large Bosc pear* halved, cored, and cubed
- 3 Tbsp (43g) salted butter chilled
- 1 tsp baking soda
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/3 cup (73g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (70g) dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp (123g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Toffee Topping**
- 2 Tbsp (28g) salted butter
- 2 Tbsp (25g) dark brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp (15ml) heavy cream
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Instructions
- Position a rack so that the tops of the mugs are 5 to 6 inches below the top of the oven and preheat the oven to 350℉.
- In a food processor, combine half the pear, the butter, baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, flour, and vanilla. Process until the batter is just combined; there will still be some flecks of pear in there, and it'll look a bit grainy.
- Stir in the remaining cubes of pear and evenly portion the batter into four ovenproof mugs. Any size will work, but 10 - to 12-ounce mugs work best. Place these on a baking sheet and bake until the batter has set, 25 to 30 minutes. The baking time will vary, based on how deep your mugs are.
Toffee Topping
- Meanwhile, make the toffee topping: Set a small saucepan over medium heat and add the butter and brown sugar and cook down, stirring often, until the toffee is softly bubbling, 5 to 7 minutes. Drizzle in the cream and stir to combine. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes to let the toffee thicken. Turn off the heat and stir in 1/4 tsp salt.
- When the mugs are set, remove them from the oven and set the oven to broil on high. Spoon 1 tablespoon of toffee over each mug, then broil until the toffee is bubbling and sticky all over, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove the mugs from the oven and let them cool until they are warm to the touch. Serve with the extra toffee and a few scoops of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Bakers' Notes:
From Justine:
If you are baking this in an 8 by 8-inch pan, bake for 18-20 minutes.
From Zoë:
*Fanned Pear addition: If you want to add the fanned pear to the mug, you'll need a second pear that is peeled, cored, quartered, and sliced into a fan. See the video I made if this is a new technique for you.
**I highly recommend you double the toffee sauce because it is delicious and you'll want to add more to top the ice cream.