Healthier vegan sticky date pudding in a mug

Do you like sticky date pudding? I think of it as a quintessential British winter dessert, and while it isn't my personal favourite, it is much adored by my mother and grandfather. It is also a favourite dessert of one of my close friends. Recently, she asked if I could make a healthier version and I was delighted to take on the challenge.

Healthier sticky date pudding, made in a mug

Sticky date pudding is actually quite easy to veganise, and there are many existing vegan recipes to choose from. Most, though, still use brown sugar (as well as golden syrup) and non-dairy spread in the pudding and sauce. As my recipes page will tell you, I have no problem with brown sugar and non-dairy spread, but they aren't exactly whole foods. For this made over pudding, I really wanted a back to basics ingredient list.

After seeing Veggieful's 2 minute vegan sticky date pudding in a mug, I also wanted to make a mug version of the dessert. A rich, decadent pudding made in 2 minutes flat, with whole food ingredients? That was a challenge I could warm to!

Sticky date pudding in a mug

My version of the recipe uses wholemeal spelt flour instead of the regular variety; swaps out brown sugar for additional dates in the pudding; and swaps out non-dairy spread for apple sauce in the pudding, and for nut butter in the sauce. For a truly wholefood ingredient list,  you would need to use maple syrup as the liquid sweetener, but I did retain golden syrup here. It is such a core part of sticky date pudding that I recommend you keep it too.

As for the result? This was sticky and sweet and satisfying in exactly the way it should be. I won't pretend that it's the same as a restaurant pudding, but as an easy homemade version, I rate it very highly. The 2 minute convenience adds bonus points too!

Healthier sticky date pudding in a mug

All the decadence with fewer processed ingredients
Vegan

Serves one

Author: Bite-sized thoughts, adapted from Veggieful's 2 minute vegan sticky date pudding in a mug

Print recipe

Ingredients

For the pudding -

3 tbsp wholemeal spelt flour (or plain flour)

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp non-dairy milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond)

1-1/2 tbsp apple sauce (mine was sweetened)

1 tbsp golden syrup (maple syrup or rice malt syrup will work but won't give quite the same taste)

6 pitted dried dates, finely chopped

For the sauce (double quantities if you like a lot of sauce) -

2 tsp cashew or almond butter

2 tsp golden syrup

Method

In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, milk, apple sauce and golden syrup. Whisk well to combine. Add the chopped dates and stir through.

Pour the mixture into a medium or large mug (at least 300ml, and bigger is safer). Heat on high power in the microwave for 2 minutes.

Allow the pudding to cool slightly, and while it does, combine the sauce ingredients (nut butter and syrup) in a small bowl or cup. Heat on low power in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds, until just warm. 

Pour the sauce over the pudding in your mug, or transfer the pudding to a bowl and top with sauce there.

Enjoy!

Submitted to Healthy Vegan Fridays.

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