I excel at planning everything else in life except baking. When it comes to baking, I am simply the worst.

The absolute worst.

Surprisingly, despite my background in project management, I find myself unable to create a coherent baking plan!

Take this Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake, for instance. I had an idea of how to make it, but I kept second-guessing everything. I ended up wasting a ton of time figuring how to put it all together.

It all began with me lacking a plan to tackle the recipe. I found a base recipe (adapted from Rock Recipes) but couldn’t figure out how to incorporate the toffee sauce.

Nevertheless, I thought I could bake the cake layers first and worry about the rest later.

I had the foresight to buy Medjool dates in anticipation of this cake, but I forgot to check other ingredients!

After all my preparation, I realized my molasses had expired. Off to the store I went, but it’s a 20-minute round trip at best!

Once back home, while prepping, I suddenly remembered I wanted to drizzle the toffee sauce over the hot cake layers, only to find out I had neglected to buy heavy cream as well! So, back to the store I went.

After finally making it back home, I whipped up the cake batter without too many hitches, except I ended up with way too much batter for my pans.

Thankfully, I managed to avoid an overflow but still had leftovers that went unbaked. I’ve since adapted the recipe because of it.

Once the cakes were baked and cooled, I poked holes into them and soaked them in hot toffee sauce. I wrapped the layers in plastic wrap and froze them since I planned to assemble the cake the following week.

Freezing the layers seemed to work perfectly, while refrigeration usually dries them out. Just make sure to double wrap them before freezing!

Fast forward to decorating day. I struggled to decide how to style this cake—something I regretted as I had wasted four hours on trial after trial of decoration.

I set the cake aside after my fourth attempt, to try for a different look the next day.

Versions 1-4

I had to make more toffee sauce for my final attempt since I completely ran out during my decorating fiascos.

When the next day came, I threw on the final coat of decoration, and unfortunately, the results didn’t match my expectations—a thin toffee sauce that never thickened! It felt like the world was against me.

Here’s a shot of the disappointing final attempt.

Version 5

Ultimately, none of the photos turned out well. After a frustrating week of deciding what to do, I decided to make the cake again. I adjusted the recipe, leading to a much prettier bake.

Version 6

Deciding how to frost this cake posed a major challenge. Traditional sticky toffee pudding does not include frosting—just the cake and some toffee syrup, possibly served with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. The challenge was striking a balance without replicating my previous Caramel Apple Cake.

In the end, I settled for a semi-naked cake with a gorgeous toffee drizzle, which was perfect for this dessert.

If you haven’t tried Sticky Toffee Pudding, you absolutely must! It’s an incredibly delicious dessert!