Gordon Ramsay's Favorite Dessert Conjures Up Memories Of His Mom
On an episode of "Last Meals," Josh Scherer interviews British celebrity chef and larger-than-life personality Gordon Ramsay. Ramsay lavishly praises his intensely personal final course food memory of savoring sticky toffee pudding at every family holiday while growing up. In contrast, he jokingly calls out the dessert abomination of a deep fried Mars Bar that is strangely popular in Scotland. In the interview, you can feel Ramsay's affection not only for his true favorite and eminently craveable sticky toffee pudding choice, but also for his mom. He refers to her as not only a great chef, but a person who worked tirelessly at multiple jobs to make ends meet, and yet somehow always managed to prepare this classic British indulgence for her family on special occasions.
Sticky toffee deliciousness
What makes this pudding such an iconic go-to? Maybe it is the brown sugar and molasses goodness of the cake, studded with dates, that give it just the right amount of sweetness and a still luscious texture on the inside with just the right amount of caramelized brown sugar crunch on the exterior. Perhaps it is the decadent, warm, thick toffee sauce draped over the just-baked cake, or the perfect quenelle of velvety, cold vanilla ice cream sitting on top. Ultimately, it is the combination of all of these elements as your spoon drops in and you are transported to another place — in Gordon Ramsay's case, to his childhood. No wonder he says he would take it to the coffin with him if he could.
Sticky toffee pudding resonates so strongly with chefs that they continue to pay homage to it with their own takes, like Kate Lyon's sticky toffee apple caramel cake on cult TV sensation "The Great British Baking Show." But Ramsay has his own recipe. Once you have the ingredients on hand, the individual cakes take less than 20 minutes to bake and the caramel sauce comes together quickly while they are in the oven. One try and you'll join the legions of fans who seek it out at every opportunity when they are across the pond.