Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Bake the pudding
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8x8-inch baking dish so the sponge releases easily after baking.
- Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined and no dry streaks remain.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla extract just until smooth.
- Add the dry mixture alternating with buttermilk, mixing only until the batter is thick and smooth with no dry pockets.
- Fold in the diced fresh rhubarb so the pieces are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared dish and bake for 35-40 minutes at 350°F, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the pudding cool for 10 minutes so it is warm but not scorching when you poke holes and pour in the sauce.
Make and soak with toffee sauce
- Combine the brown sugar, heavy cream, and butter in a saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce looks glossy and slightly thickened.
- Poke holes in the warm pudding and pour half the toffee sauce over the surface so it seeps in.
- Serve with the remaining toffee sauce and top with vanilla ice cream so the sauce pools around the pudding.
Notes
For the deepest soak, pour the first half of the toffee sauce while the pudding is still warm and give it a few minutes to settle into the holes. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days; reheat individual portions gently in the microwave. Freezing is not recommended because the sponge texture and rhubarb moisture can change. For a dairy-reduced swap, use lactose-free butter and lactose-free heavy cream (or a heavy-cream alternative labeled as a 1:1 replacement) for the sauce.