Are Oreos a hit in your house? They are at Casa Hungry with the under 12 set but the here adults find them sickly and bland. As they are often on sale in the supermarket I usually buy a few packets with the intention of adding them to baked goods, but usually find I am piped at the post by Misses 9 and 11 who love taking them to school. Continue reading
If you are looking for an easy, delicious, one bowl, melt and mix chocolate cake you have come to the right place! I love melt and mix cakes for their simplicity and speed. By melting the butter and adding it to the cake mixture you are saving time without sacrificing any of the taste. Continue reading
You know the cold weather has arrived when I start making apple crumble for dessert. Sydney has FINALLY got some cold weather and I couldn’t be happier. I know I am alone in my feelings about cold weather – everyone I know is absolutely Team Summer. Continue reading
I have a bit of a fixation with cream cheese of late. I just cannot get enough of baking recipes that use this creamy, unctuous ingredient. I also love pairing cream cheese with savoury ingredients – I am looking at you, smoked salmon – but when there is a block of cream cheese within arm`s reach I WILL turn it into a sweet treat. Continue reading
In another lifetime I worked as a waiter in an olde-worlde, ancient English pub. This gorgeous pub was in a teeny tiny country village and people travelled the skinny, windy roads from villages all around to eat there.
It was here that I first tried one of the most popular deserts on the menu – sticky toffee pudding. Now it is a household name of a dessert but back then it was just getting its name out there, at least in Australia. Many was the time that I would just have this delicious, warming dessert for dinner after a busy waitressing shift at the pub. Ahhh, youth…
This most English of desserts gets its caramel-y taste from the addition of pitted dates and brown sugar. When baked it creates a moist, golden, melt-in-the-mouth pudding that is the perfect way to end a wintry night.
Back at the pub they served the pudding with its traditional caramel sauce, which I have updated by making it salted caramel sauce. The salt cuts through the sweetness and provides a nice contrast to the sugar.
Whenever I make this dessert even the non-sweet eaters cannot resist a wedge. Served warm, drizzled with the salted caramel sauce, and maybe a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on the side, it is such a luxurious cold weather dessert that couldn’t be easier to make.
It is a great dessert for feeding a crowd – as it is quite rich a small square goes a long way.
GATHER:
250g pitted dates, snipped with scissors into chunks
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 cups boiling water
125g butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
Salted caramel sauce
50g brown sugar
50g caster sugar
50mL golden syrup
125mL double cream
75g unsalted butter, cubed
half to one-and-a-half teaspoons best quality salt [I use pink Murray River salt]
Let`s get to it:
Put dates and bicarbonate of soda in a small bowl then pour over boiling water. Set aside for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180°C and spray a 20cm square cake tin with non-stick spray and line base with baking paper.
In bowl of electric stand mixer with paddle attachment beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale then beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat until incorporated before adding the next egg.
Fold in the flour and date mixture with a silver spoon and stir until incorporated.
Pour batter into pan and bake for 35 minutes. Set aside while you make the sauce.
Salted caramel sauce:
Melt butter, sugars and syrup in a small heavy pan and simmer for two to three minutes. Swirl, don’t stir, occasionally.
Slowly pour in cream and half a teaspoon of the salt and stir before tasting. Add a little more salt at a time if you desire.
To serve: Cut pudding into squares, place in serving bowl, then drown in salted caramel sauce. Best eaten warm.
Do you find yourself drowning in Easter eggs at this time of year? I know I do. Despite not having a sweet tooth I find mini Easter eggs popping up like mushrooms. They come home from school, they are pressed upon me when I visit shops and cafes and they emerge, quite often, from the handbags of certain grandmothers. Continue reading
Those of you who know me IRL know that my surname is as Irish as it gets. I have never been to Ireland but am told that my surname is plastered across stores and businesses throughout the land. Visiting Ireland is on the to do list. I assume I will love it as I love England, the cold, history… Continue reading
Got a hankering for cheesecake and chocolate chips and cookie dough and squares? Do I have a fabulous recipe for you! Chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake squares are the ultimate in desserts – gooey and crunchy and soft and moreish and more! Continue reading
Cinnamon is one of my all time favourite flavourings for baking. It provides a classic yet distinctive taste to cakes, bickies, brownies and crumbles. Continue reading
I find that most people have a love/hate relationship with pretzels. I know which camp I fall into and it is not love. The strange thing is, I love salty, savoury, crunchy snacks but there is just something about pretzels that I dislike. Continue reading
the hungry mum 