Sticky toffee pudding is the cream of the crop as it’s voted our favourite dessert

Sticky toffee pudding is the nation’s favourite dessert, according to a poll.

Almost half the sweet-toothed adults asked to pick their top pudding voted for the dish.

The English and the Scots both lay claim to the invention of the pudding, a sticky sponge with chopped dates and a buttery toffee sauce, which rose to popularity in the 1970s.

In second place was the chocolate eclair. 

The apple crumble, a dish which appeared in Britain during the Second World War, came in a close third. 

A jam roly-poly, 1980s classic Black Forest gateau and millionaire’s shortbread were also among the favourites.

The research, for a restaurant booking website, also reveals that 38 per cent say they even prefer pudding to a savoury course. 

A similar number admit to feeling ‘pudding pressure’, when they feel too embarrassed to order dessert if no one else at the table is bothering.

he study found that, when it comes to the correct way to refer to the last course, the nation has spoken, with 49 per cent calling it “pudding”, compared to 43 per cent who call it “dessert”, four per cent who call it “sweet”, and four per cent who call it “afters”.

It also reveals that while 36 per cent always enjoy sharing a pud with someone, a further 36 per cent admit it’s all down to who they’re sharing it with – while 28 per cent ALWAYS insist on having their own.

And 44 per cent of Brits have experienced pudding envy – feeling jealous that a dessert their companion ordered looks better than their own.

Meanwhile the ideal accompaniment to a sweet treat is revealed to be a scoop of vanilla ice cream (51 per cent), followed by custard (42 per cent) or hearty double cream (32 per cent).

And almost a third of Britons (32 per cent) claim their family has secret or special pudding recipes, which are passed down through generations.

Patrick Hooykaas, Managing Director at TheFork, which commissioned the survey of 1,500 Brits, said: ‘Our research shows how much the nation enjoys a sweet treat, with many Brits preferring dessert over any other course and hearty favourites like apple crumble, sticky toffee pudding and banoffee pie all making the list of ultimate puds.

‘TheFork aims to bring happiness through amazing dining experiences and has created Dessert First Week, giving foodies in London the opportunity to turn the traditional dining experience on its head and be dictated by their taste buds, not convention. 

‘We hope this is a refreshing reminder that there should be no rules when it comes to dining out – if you want to eat dessert first, or nothing but dessert, please be our guest!’

The research also reveals a host of etiquette tips when ordering pudding, including never decline dessert yourself and then dig into someone else’s instead (60 per cent).

Also on the list of the ultimate pudding ‘faux pas’ are eating someone else’s dessert when they leave the table or aren’t looking (59 per cent) and making passive aggressive comments about how bad sugar and fat is when someone else is trying to enjoy their sweet course (51 per cent).

Brits also can’t stand it when another diner makes lots of hints about wanting to try someone else’s dessert (47 percent) – so it’s no surprise that 62 percent agree there’s nothing worse than someone insisting they don’t want pudding, but then asking to share yours instead.

But two thirds (66 per cent) say feeling too full from the rest of the meal can put them off ordering a pud, a third won’t bother if they don’t like the menu options and a quarter try to resist if they’re watching their weight.

Yet a fifth (21 per cent) admit they’d happily order three desserts to pick at, and wouldn’t dream of doing the same with starters or mains.

According to the findings, Birmingham (45 per cent) is the pudding capital of the UK, followed by Oxford (45 per cent) and Leicester (44 per cent).