Sticky Toffee Pudding

Image provided courtesy of the baking pan.com

This is the original (and best) sticky toffee pudding recipe that i came across during my time in the catering industry. NOT at all to be confused with treacle sponge and other variants (which are more than often passed off as sticky toffee pudding), this recipe uses dates and their wonderful caramel-esque flavour to provide our stickiness and toffeeness. Its not for the fainthearted.

When putting this together for the first time, much like me you'll think "this will never work". Trust me it does. And I promise you one thing.... you'll never confuse sticky toffee pudding and treacle sponge desserts ever again.

Ingredients:

12oz dates
1 pint water
1 earl grey teabag
2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
4oz butter
12 oz caster sugar
4 eggs
12 oz self raising flour.

Preparation:


Boil the dates in the water, with tea bag
Once boiled for 5 minutes, add the bicarbonate of soda and remove from the heat, Remove tea bag.
Cream the butter and sugar
Add eggs gradually
Add flour and fold in
Remove the tea bags from the water and add the dates and the water to the mix
Mix together

Bake in loaf tins (you should get about 2 out of this mix.) at about 160 degrees C or thereabouts. To test if done pierce with a sharp knife. When the knife comes out clean, its ready.

Serve with butterscotch and ice cream. Enjoy eternally.

Scones

Image courtesy of The Guardian.

Scones are a wonderful accompaniment usually taken with afternoon tea, or elevenses. A British favourite scones are an umbrella term for a number of baked items, usually no bigger than a muffin or similar. Here is a standard recipe that never fails me, for regular scones. Feel free to add a handful of fruit, be it blueberries, chopped raspberries, cranberries, raisins, sultanas, currants. Adding the zest of half a lemon or orange will also give this recipe an uplifting beat.


Ingredients

225g/8oz self raising flour
pinch of salt
55g/2oz butter
25g/1oz caster sugar
150ml/5fl oz milk
1 free-range egg, beaten

The do-ing bit :)

Heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Mix together the flour and salt and rub in the butter.

Stir in the sugar and then the milk to get a soft dough.

Turn on to a floured work surface and knead very lightly. Pat out to a round 2cm/¾in thick. Use a 5cm/2in cutter to stamp out rounds and place on a baking sheet. Lightly knead together the rest of the dough and stamp out more scones to use it all up.

Brush the tops of the scones with the beaten egg. Bake for 12-15 minutes until well risen and golden.