Catherine, Princess of Wales, may be closely linked with healthy living, but there is one rich British dessert that apparently earns a place at her table. Kate Middleton’s favorite dessert is sticky toffee pudding, and Prince William has helped confirm the long-running claim.
The sweet detail emerged again during William’s October 2024 visit to Duchy College in Cornwall. While touring the college, the Prince of Wales stopped at a café and spoke with chef Darren Watson about royal food favorites. Watson had done some homework before the visit and came prepared with a few well-researched treats.
Prince William Confirms Kate Middleton’s Sweet Favorite
Wales Royals / IG / Chef Darren Watson presented Prince William with chocolate biscuit cake, a treat strongly associated with the prince. The chef then mentioned his research suggesting that Kate’s favorite dessert was sticky toffee pudding.
William responded, “Very good,” effectively giving the claim a royal stamp of approval.
The exchange was brief, but it backed up a food preference that had circulated for years. Sticky toffee pudding had already been linked to the Princess of Wales through people who served Kate and her family long before royal life became part of the picture.
One of the strongest earlier accounts came from Rody Warot, a chef who worked at The Old Boot Inn in Stanford Dingley, Berkshire. Kate and the Middleton family were known to visit the country pub, which sits near the area where the future princess grew up.
Warot previously told People that Kate enjoyed dishes such as pâté on toasted brioche and tiger prawn and wild mushroom linguine. Dessert apparently brought a clear favorite, with the chef identifying sticky toffee pudding as Kate’s preferred choice and describing the dish as “moist and spongy.”
That history makes William’s later confirmation more interesting. This does not appear to be a dessert suddenly attached to Kate because of a recent royal engagement. The preference stretches back to her visits to a Berkshire pub connected with her life before joining the Royal Family.
What Makes Sticky Toffee Pudding So Good?
The name can cause some confusion outside Britain. Sticky toffee pudding is not a creamy pudding in the American sense, and nobody needs a spoon to scoop it from a chilled dessert cup.
The heart of the dish is a soft sponge cake containing finely chopped dates. Those dates provide moisture, sweetness, and a darker flavor that works with the rich sauce poured over the warm cake. Custard, cream, or vanilla ice cream often completes the serving.
Many recipes soften the dates before adding them to the batter. The finished sponge should stay tender instead of turning heavy, while the sauce supplies the sticky texture responsible for the dessert’s famous name.
The toffee sauce keeps things equally straightforward. Recipes commonly use butter, cream, and dark sugar to produce a thick sauce with a deep caramel flavor. Some versions use muscovado, molasses sugar, or other dark sugars to create an even richer finish.
Sticky toffee pudding usually arrives warm, which allows the sauce to soak into the sponge while keeping the center soft. Cold vanilla ice cream creates a sharp contrast, while hot custard turns the dessert into classic British comfort food.
Kate Middleton’s Favorite Dessert Has a Curious History
Mae Innovation / Sticky toffee pudding feels like an old British institution, but its exact history remains surprisingly difficult to settle.
Several places have claimed a role in creating the dessert, and the competing stories stretch across England and Scotland.
The version most closely tied to its modern popularity comes from Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel in Cumbria. Francis Coulson and Robert Lee developed and served sticky toffee pudding there during the 1970s, helping turn the dessert into a widely recognized British favorite.
The story becomes more complicated when tracing the recipe further back. Food writer Simon Hopkinson reported that Coulson said he received the recipe from Patricia Martin of Claughton in Lancashire.
