TSK+ Robyns Sicky Toffee Pudding Birthday Cake

A special cake for a 4 year old.

Hi friends,

I’ve been hearing one very specific phrase on repeat this month:
“Mummy, can I have the sticky cake for my birthday?”

Every day. Without fail. First thing in the morning, last thing before bed, usually somewhere in the middle while I’m scraping dried Weetabix off the table or trying to sneak spinach into lunch.

And listen — it’s not every day your littlest turns four. So of course, we made the cake. The very one she’s been dreaming about.

A Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake. But not just any old sticky toffee situation. This is a rich, squidgy, single-layer date cake — heavy with dark sugar and soft, sticky crumbs — crowned with salted caramel buttercream and an extra drizzle of salted caramel because, let’s be honest, life is short and birthdays should be saucy.

It’s the kind of cake that feels more like a warm pudding, the kind you want to eat with a spoon while the candles are still warm and someone’s little hands are already swiping frosting off the side.

And while I do love a fancy layered bake, there’s something so lovely and unfussy about a single-layer cake that you can make in one tin, ice in five minutes, and watch disappear before your eyes.

It’s cosy, nostalgic, and just indulgent enough — perfect for a chilly birthday when you’ve got a small but very opinionated four-year-old who knows exactly what she wants. (Which is, apparently: “the sticky cake with the gold sauce on top.”)

Here’s the recipe — for birthdays, or just because you need a pudding-in-cake-form that makes you feel like you’re at a country pub beside a fire.